Editorial Note

Prof. Oded Goldreich from the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science at Weizmann Institute was a candidate for the prestigious

Israel Prize. However, Yoav Galant, the Minister of Education, has requested the nomination committee to reconsider his nomination due to BDS support. Goldreich, an expert on cryptography and computational complexity theory, was awarded the prestigious Knuth Prize in 2017 for the outstanding contribution to the foundations of computer science.

Goldreich is a long-time member of Hadash and the Communist Party of Israel, and has been active for years against the “occupation of the Palestinian territories.” In June 2017, Goldreich was among 240 Israeli scholars who signed an appeal to the German Bundestag urging it not to adopt the working definition of anti-Semitism and not to equate BDS with anti-Semitism.

Goldreich told Channel 12, which broke out with this story, that he knew nothing of being a candidate for the Israel Prize.

A few days later, Goldreich has said in an interview that, “Many of my friends and colleagues have expressed concerns about the grief involved in a handshake with Netanyahu and Galant.” When asked about the petition he signed in 2017, he said: “The document does not call for a boycott of Israel but explains that the harsh criticism of various organizations – including the BDS – on Israel’s policy in the Occupied Territories and the call for sanctions against it for this policy is not anti-Semitic, but legitimate criticism and legitimate political action. I stand behind my signature on this document.”  As for not receiving the Israel prize, he said: “Many of my friends and colleagues have expressed concerns about the grief involved in the handshake of two villains – the prime minister and his spokesman, the Minister of Education. This grief is negligible in relations to the grief I feel every day from the government policy, without mentioning the more severe suffering of many who are direct victims of that criminal and stupid policy,” he added.

Last week Goldreich was among a group of Israeli political activist-academics, who wrote a letter of support to two Italian mayors who withdrew from a conference on anti-Semitism, published by the Palestinian BDS movement. They wrote:  “We are writing to you as Israeli nationals affiliated with academia in the UK and elsewhere, to thank you for choosing not to participate in the ‘Mayors Summit Against Antisemitism’ conference, set to take place on March 16, 2021. Like you, we believe that fighting all forms of racism, including antisemitism, is of utmost importance. At the same time, we are very troubled by attempts, including, but not limited to this Mayors’ conference, to instrumentalize the fight against antisemitism to suppress freedom of expression on Israel and Zionism, to stifle advocacy for Palestinian rights, and to exclude legitimate criticism of Israel’s ongoing oppression of Palestinians.”

Goldreich has a long history of flirting with BDS. In 2008, specifically, he was among a group of Israelis who supported the Methodist Church’ BDS resolution. They wrote, “we Israeli seekers of peace and justice express our sincere gratitude to the Methodist Church for its stand on the occupation, and support the proposals before the General Conference this April on divestment. Boycott and divestment are non-violent means of pressuring governments to change their policies–means now sorely needed to compel the Israeli government to end its occupation of Palestinians and their lands and thereby to better the lives of Israelis as well as of Palestinians.”

Also in 2008, both the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) and the Boycott Israeli Goods (BIG), endorsed a petition by a group of Israeli academics, including Goldreich, questioning “Academic Freedom to Whom?” presenting it as a call to boycott Israel by Israeli academics. None of the signatories corrected the wrong message. By so doing, they lent their names to the boycott movement.

In 2010, Goldreich helped Dr. Anat Matar to define her BDS advocacy. Matar and Goldreich wrote, “The call to boycott draws its inspiration from the apartheid struggle in South-Africa. Of course, the historical circumstances were different, and different forms of struggle, but there are similarities in the form of regime behavior, as well as in relations to the international community… I will note, only, that many people, known for their struggle against South-Africa’s apartheid, are finding such similarities as supportive of the moves for a boycott against Israel because of this.”

Already in 2003, Goldreich wrote on his website at Weizmann Institute, “My political views,” stating that, “On top of this massive violation of human rights, Israel’s rule of the occupied territories is marked by an increasing number of war crimes ranging from murder (i.e., intentional killing of people without due process and/or sound justification), to causing death and severe injury of civilians in hundreds of cases (by criminal negligence), massive intentional destruction of private and public property (i.e., houses, plants, vehicles, equipment, etc), and the emprisonment and starvation of the entire population. Typically, the justification offered for these violations and crimes is self-defense.”

Evidently, Goldreich felt very strongly about these alleged abuses and, by extension, the State of Israel.  An honorable way to protest would be to resign his position from the Weizmann Institute, which pro-Palestinian activists consider, along with other institutions of higher learning, a tool of oppression.  His position is even more hypocritical since academics, intellectuals, journalists, and activists in the West Bank have been thrown to jail for as much as criticizing Mahmoud Abbas and his corrupt and lawless political system.  Needless to say, under the brutal dictatorship of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, freedom of expression is an alien concept as it is in North Korea.

IAM has repeatedly emphasized that academics like Goldreich do the Palestinians no favor.  By constantly focusing on Israel, they conveniently omit the problems that Palestinians face at the hands of their leadership.

The prestigious Israel Prize is given for contributions to society and cannot be divorced from the recipient’s moral character.  By any measure, Goldreich’s hypocritical behavior should disqualify him.

====================================================

https://worldisraelnews.com/pro-bds-professor-rumored-frontrunner-for-israels-most-prestigious-prize/

Pro-BDS professor rumored frontrunner for Israel’s most prestigious prize

March 11, 2021

Education Minister has no say but demands that the nominating committee rescind its decision, which has yet to be announced.

By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

Education Minister Yoav Galant has demanded that the Israel Prize nominating committee rescind its alleged decision to award the country’s highest honor to a professor who has defended the boycott effort against Israel, Channel 12 reported Wednesday.

Unofficially hearing that the recipient of the award in the category of Mathematics and Computer Science would be Weizmann Institute Prof. Oded Goldreich, Galant blew a gasket upon discovering that the academic had signed an appeal to the German parliament calling to cancel the recognition of the BDS movement as being anti-Semitic.

“The state of affairs in which the professor will receive the most prestigious award from the state with one hand, and with the other hand promotes the affairs of a movement that undermines the existence of Israel – is absurd and unacceptable,” he said, according to the report.

In May 2019, the Bundestag passed an advisory resolution calling on Germany’s regional and local governments to deny public funding or space to any person or institution that supports or identifies with the BDS movement or questions Israel’s right to exist.

In June, some 240 mostly Jewish and Israeli scholars, including Goldreich, condemned the legally non-binding motion and called on the government not to adopt it. They denied that BDS was anti-Semitic and expressed the concern that the resolution curtailed the right of freedom of speech.

BDS was founded by Palestinian activist Omar Barghouti, who has stated, “We oppose a Jewish state in any part of Palestine.” The movement falsely compares Israel to apartheid-era South Africa and demands the “right of return” for all Palestinian refugees and their descendants to Israel, which would effectively destroy the Jewish state.

Making his opposition known may be the only thing Galant can do, as he has no authority to intervene in the granting of the Israel Prize.

According to website Political Campus, which seeks freedom of speech for conservative academics equal to that of liberals in Israeli institutions, Goldreich has signed other anti-Israel petitions as well. During 2014’s Operation Protective Edge to stop Hamas terrorism, he joined a call against an Israeli “slaughter of innocents” that also decried the “endless oppression of the Palestinian people.” He has supported lecturers and students who refuse to serve in the IDF, asked the Spanish parliament to recognize “Palestine,” and signed a petition backing the extreme left-wing Breaking the Silence organization.

The 64-year-old professor told Channel 12 that he knew nothing about the award.

“I have not been updated on the win,” Goldreich said. “I am not willing to comment on what I don’t know. I don’t know what it’s about and therefore I don’t know how to respond.”

Goldreich, who has done extensive research on cryptography and computational complexity theory, won the Knuth Prize in 2017 for outstanding contributions to the foundations of computer science.

====================================================

http://maki.org.il/en/?p=26819

Education Minister Seeks to Deny Prize to Hadash-CPI Activist Prof.

CPI /10 March 2021

The far-right Minister of Education in Benjamin Netanyahu’s caretaker government, MK Yoav Galant, has demanded that the Israel Prize nominating committee rescind its rumored decision to award the country’s highest honor to Professor Oded Goldreich, a leading computer scientist, Al–Ittihad and Zo Haderech have reported in recent days. Goldreich, who has been active for years against the occupation of the Palestinian territories, is a long-time member of Hadash and the Communist Party of Israel (CPI).Minister Galant, a former general in the Israeli army, was head of the Southern Command during Israel’s excessively brutal and devastatingly destructive, 3-week military campaign “Operation Cast Lead” against Hamas in the Gaza Strip (December 27, 2008-January 18, 2009) which resulted in some 1,400 Palestinian deaths, more than a thousand of which were minors, women or adult male non-combatants, according to B’Tselem. In 2010, Galant’s, nomination as the next Chief of Staff of Israel’s military was withdrawn following allegations of various improprieties on his part, including the seizure of public lands near his home at Moshav Amikam, near Zikhron Ya’akov along the Carmel region of Israel’s Coastal plain.

Galant, a member of the Likud since 2018, reportedly exploded when he unofficially learned last week that the recipient of this year’s Israel Prize for the fields of Mathematics and Computer Science would be Goldreich, a professor at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot. In June 2017, Goldreich was among some 240 Israeli scholars who signed an appeal to the German Bundestag calling on it not to adopt a legally non-binding motion then being debated by the lawmakers which categorized the pro-Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel as “anti-Semitic.” The Israeli signatories to the petition categorically refuted any such aspersions towards BDS, and expressed their concern that, if passed, the German resolution would curtail freedom of speech.

The 64-year-old professor of computer science told Channel 12 that he knew nothing about the talk of his being designated to receive the Israel Prize. “I have not been updated on the win,” he told the television station. Goldreich, who has done extensive research on cryptography and computational complexity theory, was awarded the prestigious Knuth Prize in 2017 for outstanding contributions to the foundations of computer science.March 13, 2021 i

===================================================
https://bdsmovement.net/news/israeli-academics-thank-italian-mayors-for-withdrawing-from-conference-aimed-shielding-israel

Israeli Academics Thank Italian Mayors for Withdrawing From Conference Aimed at Shielding Israel From AccountabilityMarch 16, 2021 /  By Israeli academics Israeli academics commend the mayors of Bologna and Palermo for helping to “move us along the path of struggle against all forms of racism, including antisemitism, and set an example for others to follow”.

Below is a letter signed by Israeli academics sent to Virginio Merola, Mayor of Bologna, and Leoluca Orlando, Mayor of Palermo. The academics thank the two mayors for having withdrawn from an international conference of mayors aimed at shieldng Israel from accountability over its violations of Palestinian human rights. 

Dear Mayors,

We are writing to you as Israeli nationals affiliated with academia in the UK and elsewhere, to thank you for choosing not to participate in the ‘Mayors Summit Against Antisemitism’ conference, set to take place on March 16, 2021.

Like you, we believe that fighting all forms of racism, including antisemitism, is of utmost importance. At the same time, we are very troubled by attempts, including, but not limited to this Mayors’ conference, to instrumentalize the fight against antisemitism to suppress freedom of expression on Israel and Zionism, to stifle advocacy for Palestinian rights, and to exclude legitimate criticism of Israel’s ongoing oppression of Palestinians.

The first panel of the conference is dedicated to the inherently flawed IHRA working definition of antisemitism, which has been widely criticised. We are among nearly 200 Israeli scholars worldwide who expressed publically a strong opposition to its adoption by UK universities, pointing out not only its inadequacies in combatting antisemitism on campuses, but also the ways in which it has been deployed to shield Israel from criticism.  Numerous others have warned against the dangers of adopting the IHRA definition, for precisely these reasons, including the director of the Pears Institute for the Study of Antisemitism at the University of London, the University College London Academic Board, the British Society of Middle Eastern Studies, a coalition of Jewish organizations in North America and Canada, and even the lead author of the definition.

We thank you for your willingness to consider the call from international Jewish organisations to withdraw from this conference, for taking the time to familiarize yourself with the accurate nature of the conference’s agenda, and for your decision not to be a part of it. You have shown great courage and integrity. Actions such as yours help move us along the path of struggle against all forms of racism, including antisemitism, and set an example for others to follow.

Sincerely,

Prof. Hagit Borer FBA, Queen Mary University of London

Dr. Moshe Behar, University of Manchester

Prof. Neve Gordon, Queen Mary University of London

Prof. Emerita Nira Yuval-Davis, University of East London,

Dr. Judit Druks, University College London

Dr. Moriel Ram, Newcastle University

Dr. Yohai Hakak, Brunel University London

PhD Candidate Daphna Baram, Lancaster University

Dr. Yael Friedman, University of Portsmouth

Dr. Catherine Rottenberg, University of Nottingham

Dr. Noam Leshem, Durham University

Dr. Itamar Kastner, University of Edinburgh

Prof. (emeritus) Moshé Machover, Kings College, University of London

Dr. Ophira Gamliel, University of Glasgow

Dr. Merav Amir, Queen’s University Belfast

Dr. Anat Matar, Tel-Aviv University

Prof. Haim Bresheeth, SOAS University of London

Dr. Yonatan Shemmer, University of Sheffield

Prof. Gerardo Leibner, Tel-Aviv University

Prof. Oded Goldreich, Weitzman Institute

====================================================

https://www.maariv.co.il/news/politics/Article-827037

גלנט בפניה לוועדת פרס ישראל: אל תעניקו את הפרס למדען שתומך ב-BDS

בחדשות 12 דווח כי שר החינוך טוען כי פרופ’ עודד גולדרייך, שנבחר על ידי הוועדה לקבל את הפרס בתחום חקר המתמטיקה ומדעי המחשב, חתום על פנייה לבטל את ההכרה בתנועת החרם על ישראל כתנועה אנטישמית

מעריב אונליין 10/03/2021 20:53 1 דק’ קריאה

ההודעה שפרסם משרד החינוך, לפיה טרם התקבלה החלטה סופית לגבי הענקת פרס ישראל בתחום חקר המתמטיקה ומדעי המחשב, ניסתה להתעלם מהמתרחש בחדרים סגורים ומהחלטת הוועדה להעניק את הפרס לפרופ’ עודד גולדרייך – זאת בעקבות בקשתו של שר החינוך יואב גלנט לבחון מחדש את הבחירה, כך פורסם הערב (רביעי) ב”חדשות 12″. הוועדה החליטה להעניק את הפרס לפרופ’ ממכון ויצמן על פועלו בנושא סיבוכיות חישובית. השר גלנט גילה כי גולדרייך חתום על פנייה לפרלמנט הגרמני לבטל את ההכרה בתנועת החרם על ישראל, ה-BDS, כתנועה אנטישמית. בנוסף גילה גלנט, כי הפרופ’ גם הגדיר את חיילי צה”ל כפושעי מלחמה. יצוין כי בג”ץ קבע בעבר כי לשר החינוך אין כל סמכות להתערב בהענקת הפרס, או לקשור בין התבטאויות כגון אלו לבין מתן הפרס.

“מצב הדברים שבו הפרופ’ יקבל בידו האחת מהמדינה את הפרס היוקרתי ביותר, ובידו האחרת מקדם את ענייניה של תנועה החותרת תחת קיומה של ישראל – הוא אבסורדי ובלתי מתקבל על הדעת”, כתב גלנט בפנייתו לוועדה, בה דרש כי בחירתו של הפרופ’ תישקל מחדש.

====================================================

https://www.maariv.co.il/news/Education/Article-827967

“עוגמת הנפש בקבלת פרס ישראל – לחיצת ידיים לשני המנוולים הראשיים גלנט ונתניהו”

הפרופ’ ממכון וייצמן שהוועדה החליטה להעניק לו את הפרס הנחשב מייצר עוד סערות, זאת לאחר הפרסום בחדשות 12 על הכוונה לבטל את זכייתו: “לא מתחרט על התמיכה ב-BDS”

מעריב אונליין 15/03/2021 18:58 2 דק’ קריאה

הסערה סביב פרס ישראל נמשכת: לאחר פרסומים שונים בתקשורת אודות ניסיונתיו של שר החינוך יואב גלנט לשלול מוועדת פרס ישראל את הסמכות להעניק את המענק הנחשב בתחום חקר המתמטיקה ומדעי המחשב לפרופ’ עודד גולדרייך ממכון וייצמן, המדען ממשיך להסתבך בדבריו. בראיון שהתפרסם היום (שני) אמר כי: “רבים מידידיי וחבריי הביעו חששות מעוגמת הנפש הכרוכה בלחיצת ידם של נתניהו וגלנט”.בקשר למחלוקת סביב קבלת הפרס, ותמיכתו לכאורה במטרותיה של התנועה לחרם על ישראל, ה-BDS, אמר המדען: “שוב ושוב – המסמך אינו קורא להחרים את ישראל אלא מסביר שהביקורת החריפה של ארגונים  שונים –  ובכללם ה-BDS – על מדיניות ישראל בשטחים הכבושים והקריאה לסנקציות כלפיה בשל מדיניות זו אינה אנטישמיות, אלא ביקורת לגיטימית ופעולה פוליטית לגיטימית. אני עומד מאחורי חתימתי על מסמך זה”.

“רבים מידידיי וחברי הביעו חששות מעוגמת נפש הכרוכה בלחיצת ידם של שני מנוולים ראשיים – ראש הממשלה ועושה דברו, שר החינוך”, התייחס בזלזול המדען לבנימין נתניהו ויואב גלנט. “עוגמת נפש זאת הינה זניחה ביחס לעוגמת הנפש שיש לי כל יום ממדיניות הממשלה, וזאת מבלי לציין את הסבל הממשי החמור יותר של רבים שהם קורבנות ישירים של אותה מדיניות נפשעת ומטומטמת”, הוסיף. כזכור, ההודעה שפרסם משרד החינוך, לפיה טרם התקבלה החלטה סופית לגבי הענקת פרס ישראל בתחום חקר המתמטיקה ומדעי המחשב, ניסתה להתעלם משהתרחש בחדרים סגורים ומהחלטת הוועדה להעניק את הפרס לפרופ’ גולדרייך – זאת בעקבות בקשתו של גלנט לבחון מחדש את הבחירה, כך על פי פרסום של חדשות 12.טרם הסערה, החליטה הוועדה להעניק את הפרס לגולדריין על פועלו המחקרי בנושא סיבוכיות חישובית. השר גלנט גילה כי גולדרייך חתום על פנייה לפרלמנט הגרמני לבטל את ההכרה בתנועת החרם על ישראל, ה-BDS, כתנועה אנטישמית. בנוסף גילה גלנט, כי הפרופ’ גם הגדיר את חיילי צה”ל כפושעי מלחמה. יצוין כי בג”ץ קבע בעבר כי לשר החינוך אין כל סמכות להתערב בהענקת הפרס, או לקשור בין התבטאויות כגון אלו לבין מתן הפרס.

======================================================

https://bdsmovement.net/news/240-jewish-and-israeli-scholars-german-government-boycotts-are-legitimate-and-non-violent-tool

240 Jewish and Israeli scholars to German government: boycotts are a legitimate and non-violent tool of resistanceJune 12, 2019 / By 240 Jewish and Israeli scholars / Germany, Palestine
“We reject this motion, which is based on the false allegation that BDS as such equals anti-Semitism. We call on the German government not to endorse this motion and to fight anti-Semitism, while respecting and protecting freedom of speech and of association, which are undeniably under attack.”

June 3, 2019 – Mid-May, Jewish and Israeli scholars, many of whom specialized in anti-Semitism, Jewish history and history of the Holocaust, sounded alarm about the growing tendency to label supporters of Palestinian human rights as anti-Semitic. They did so in a call addressed to the German Bundestag in relation to several motions that were being tabled against the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement (BDS). Many of us signed this call.

On May 17, one of these motions, sponsored by CDU/CSU, SPD, FDP and Bündnis 90/Die Grünen, was adopted. We reject this motion, which is based on the false allegation that BDS as such equals anti-Semitism. We call on the German government not to endorse this motion and to fight anti-Semitism, while respecting and protecting freedom of speech and of association, which are undeniably under attack.

As expressed in the earlier statement, we view anti-Semitism and all forms of racism and bigotry as a threat that must be fought, and we encourage the German government and parliament to do so. However, the adopted motion does not assist this fight. On the contrary, it undermines it.

The opinions about BDS among the signatories of this call differ significantly: some may support BDS, while others reject it for different reasons. Yet, we all reject the deceitful allegation that BDS as such is anti-Semitic and maintain that boycotts are a legitimate and non-violent tool of resistance. We, leading researchers of anti-Semitism included, assert that one should be considered an anti-Semite according to the content and the context of one’s words and deeds – whether they come from BDS supporters or not.

Regrettably, the adopted motion ignores the explicit opposition of the BDS movement to “all forms of racism, including anti-Semitism”. The BDS movement seeks to influence the policies of the government of a state that is responsible for the ongoing occupation and oppression of the Palestinian people. Such policies cannot be immune to criticism. In this context, it should also be noted that many Jewish and Israeli individuals and groups either support BDS explicitly, or defend the right to support it. We consider it inappropriate and offensive when German governmental and parliamentary institutions label them anti-Semitic.

Moreover, the three main goals of BDS – ending the occupation, full equality to the Arab citizens of Israel and the right of return of Palestinian refugees – adhere to international law, even if the third goal is undoubtedly debatable. We are shocked that demands for equality and compliance with international law are considered anti-Semitic.

We conclude that the rise in anti-Semitism is clearly not the concern which inspired the motion adopted by the Bundestag. On the contrary, this motion is driven by political interests and policies of Israel’s most right-wing government in history.

For years, the Israeli government under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been labelling any opposition to its illegal and peace-undermining policies as anti-Semitic. No one can be surprised that Netanyahu warmly welcomed the motion by the Bundestag. This embrace illustrates how the fight against anti-Semitism is being instrumentalized to shield policies of the Israeli government that cause severe violations of human rights and that destroy the chances for peace. We find it unacceptable and utterly counterproductive when supporting “the right of the Jewish and democratic state of Israel to exist” and fighting anti-Semitism in fact encourages these policies.

To make things worse, the adopted motion does not distinguish between Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories. It categorically condemns all boycotts of Israeli businesses and goods – including of businesses in and goods from Israel’s illegal settlements. As a result, it would label a campaign to boycott of products of a settlement company complicit in human rights violations, as anti-Semitic. This constitutes a deplorable withdrawal from the unequivocal and consistent opposition of the German government and the EU to Israel’s settlement policy.

Furthermore, the motion ignores that statements in the context of BDS are protected by freedom of expression, as also confirmed by the EU, which “stands firm in protecting freedom of expression and freedom of association in line with the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, which is applicable on EU Member States’ territory, including with regard to BDS actions carried out on this territory”. Precisely because of its history, Germany should be very cautious about any retreat from these basic democratic norms.

Finally, the conflation of BDS with anti-Semitism does not advance the urgent fight against anti-Semitism. The threat of anti-Semitism does not originate from Palestinian rights activists, but mainly from the extreme right and from Jihadist groups. Denying that could alienate Muslims and Arabs from the vital struggle against anti-Semitism and hamper the possibility of building true solidarity between Jews, Israelis, Muslims and Arabs in fighting anti-Semitism and other forms of racism. It also sends a wrong message to those who choose to oppose the oppression of the Palestinian people by non-violent means.

For all those reasons, we, Jewish and Israeli scholars, reject the motion by CDU/CSU, SPD, FDP and Bündnis 90/Die Grünen. Now that it has been adopted, we call on the German government not to endorse this motion and to refrain from equating BDS with anti-Semitism. Instead, the German government must act upon its positive responsibility to promote and protect the freedom of expression and of association.

In addition, we call on the German government to maintain its direct and indirect funding of Israeli and Palestinian non-governmental organisations that peacefully challenge the Israeli occupation, expose severe violations of international law and strengthen civil society. These organizations defend the principles and values at the heart of liberal democracy and rule of law in Germany and elsewhere. More than ever, they need financial support and political backing.

Signed by 240 Jewish and Israeli scholars (institutional affiliations mentioned for identification purposes only):

Prof. Aaron J. Hahn Tapper, Mae and Benjamin Swig Professor of Jewish Studies, Director of the Swig Program in Jewish Studies and Social Justice, Department of Theology & Religious Studies University of San Francisco
Adam Hochschild, Author and journalist, Lecturer at the Graduate School of Journalism. University of California at Berkeley, winner of the Theodore Roosevelt-Woodrow Wilson Award (2008)
Dr. Adam Kossoff, Reader at the School of Art, University of Wolverhampton, specializes in the context of Israel-Palestine
Prof. Adam Sutcliffe, Department of History, King’s College London, specializes in Jewish History
Prof. (emerita) Alice Shalvi, English Departments, Hebrew University Jerusalem and Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, former Rector Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies, winner of the Israel Prize (2007), co-winner of the Leibowitz Prize (2009), winner of the Bonei Zion Prize (2017)
Prof. Alon Confino, Pen Tishkach Chair of Holocaust Studies, Director of The Institute for Holocaust, Genocide, and Memory Studies, Department of History, University of Massachusetts
Dr. Alon Liel, International MA in Security and Diplomacy, Tel Aviv University, former Ambassador to South Africa, Consul General in the south-east of the USA and Head of Diplomatic Mission in Turkey, former Director General of the Israeli Ministry of Economy and Planning and of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Dr. Amir Minsky, Assistant Teaching Professor of History, New York University, Abu Dhabi
Prof. (emeritus) Amiram Goldblum, School of Pharmacy- Institute for Drug Research, the Faculty of Medicine, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, one of the founders of the Israeli NGP “Peace Now” and its former spokesperson
Prof. Amos Goldberg, Former Chair of the Department of Jewish History and Contemporary Jewry, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, specializes in Holocaust History
Dr. Anat Matar, Philosophy Department, Tel Aviv University
Dr. Andre Levy, Senior Lecturer, Department of Sociology & Anthropology, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, specializes in the concepts of diaspora and ethnicity
Prof. Andrew Stuart Bergerson, History Department, University of Missouri-Kansas City, specializes in history of modern Germany
Prof. Aner Preminger, Filmmaker and professor at the Department of Communication, The Hebrew University, Jerusalem and Sapir Academic College
Dr. Annie Pfingst, Independent Scholar, specializes in the context of Israel-Palestine
Dr. Anya Topolski, Associate Professor of Ethics and Political Philosophy, Radboud University Nijmegen, specializes in racism in Europe
Dr. Ariel Salzmann, Associate Professor, Islamic and World History, Department of History, Queen’s University
Assaf Gavron, Writer, winner of the Israeli Prime Minister Award for authors (2011) and the Bernstein Prize (2013)
Prof. Audrey Macklin, Director of the Centre for Criminology and Sociolegal Studies, Professor of Law and Chair in Human Rights, University of Toronto
Prof. (emeritus) Avi Shlaim, The Department of Politics and International Relations, St Antony’s College and The University of Oxford, Fellow of the British Academy, specializes in Zionism and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
Prof. Avner Ben-Amos, Department of History, Tel Aviv University, specializes in nationalism and collective memory in Israel
Avraham Burg, Former Member of the Israeli Knesset, Speaker of the Knesset and Chairman of the Jewish Agency and the World Zionist Organization
Dr. Ayelet Ben-Yishai, Department of English Language, University of Haifa
Prof. b.h. Yael, Filmmaker, Professor and former chair of Integrated Media at the Ontario College of Art and Design, specializes in the context of Israel-Palestine
Dr. Barak Kalir, Assistant professor in the Department of Anthropology and Sociology, University of Amsterdam, specializes in migration in the Jewish-Israeli context
Prof. Barry Trachtenberg, Michael R. and Deborah K. Rubin Presidential Chair of Jewish History, Department of History, Wake Forest University
Dr. Ben Silverstein, School of History, Australian National University, specializes in indigenous histories and settler colonialism
Prof. (emerita) Benita Parry, English and Comparative Literary Studies, Warwick University
Prof. (emeritus) Ben-Tzion Munitz, Department of Theatre Arts, Tel Aviv University
Prof. (emerita) Bilha Mannheim, Professor of Sociology, Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, winner of the Israel Prize (2003)
Dr. Brian Klug, Senior Research Fellow & Tutor in Philosophy, University of Oxford, honorary fellow of the Parkes Institute for the Study of Jewish/non-Jewish Relations, University of Southampton
Alex Levac, Photographer, winner of the Israel Prize (2005)
Prof. Bruce Rosenstock, Department of Religion College of Liberal Arts & Sciences Administration, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Prof. Catherine Rottenberg, Foreign Literature and Linguistics, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
Prof. (emeritus) Chaim Gans, The Buchmann Faculty of Law, Tel Aviv University, specializes in political and legal theory of nationalism and Zionism
Prof. Noy Chaim, School of Communication, Bar-Ilan University, specializes in the context of Israel-Palestine
Prof. Chana Kronfeld, Hebrew, Yiddish and Comparative Literature, UC Berkeley
Prof. (emeritus) Christiane Schomblond, Department of Mathematics, Université Libre de Bruxelles
Prof. Colin Dayan, Robert Penn Warren Professor in the Humanities, English Department and Professor at the Law School, Vanderbilt University
Dr. Cynthia Franklin, Department of English, University of Hawai’I, specializes in race and ethnicity
Prof. (emeritus) Dan Jacobson, the Department of Labor Studies, Tel Aviv University
Dr. Dana Kaplan, Department of Sociology, Political Science and Communication, The Open University of Israel
Dr. Dana Mills, Department of History, Philosophy and Religion, Oxford Brookes University
Prof. Dana Ron, Computer Science, Tel Aviv University
Prof. Daniel D. Blatman, Head of the Avraham Harman Research Institute of Contemporary Jewry, Max and Rita Haber Chair in Contemporary Jewry and Holocaust Studies at the Department of Jewish History and Contemporary Jewry, The Hebrew of University Jerusalem
Prof. Daniel Boyarin, Taubman Professor of Talmudic Culture, Departments of Near Eastern Studies and Rhetoric, University of California at Berkeley
Prof. Daryl Glaser, Department of Political Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, specializes in the South African context
Prof. David Blanc, Department of Mathematics, University of Haifa
Prof. David Enoch, The Faculty of Law and The Department of Philosophy, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Prof. David Harel, Computer Science, The Weizmann Institute of Science, Vice President of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, winner of the Israel Prize (2004) and of EMET prize (2010)
Dr. David Ranan, Pears Institute for the Study of Antisemitism, Birkbeck University of London
Prof. David Comedi, Director of the Physics Institute of Northwestern Argentina, INFINOA, National University of Tucumán and CONICET
Prof. David Shulman, Department of Asian Studies, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Member of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, winner of the EMET Prize (2010) and of the Israel Prize (2016)
Prof. Debórah Dwork, Inaugural Rose Professor of Holocaust History, Founding Director of the Strassler Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies, Distinguished Research Scholar, Clark University
Dr. (emeritus) Dennis Kortheuer, Department of History at California State University, Long Beach
Prof. Diane L. Wolf, Department of Sociology and former Director of Jewish Studies Program, University of California, Davis
Dr. Dimitry Shevchenko, Post-doctoral fellow, Department of Asian Studies, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Dr. Dmitry Shumsky, Department of Jewish History and Contemporary Jewry, Director of the Cherrick Center for the study of Zionism, the Yishuv and the State of Israel, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Prof. (emeritus) Donald Sassoon, Comparative European History, Queen Mary, University of London
Dr. Dorit Naaman, Alliance Atlantis Professor of Film and Media, Queen’s University, Canada, specializes in the context of Israel-Palestine
Dr. E. Natalie Rothman, Department of Historical and Cultural Studies, University of Toronto Scarborough
Dr. Elizabeth Freund (emerita), Department of English Literature, Hebrew University Jerusalem
Prof. Elizabeth Heineman, Department of History, The University of Iowa, specializes in gender, war, and memory in Germany and in the Holocaust
Dr. Erella Grassiani, Department of Anthropology, University of Amsterdam, specializes in the context of Israel-Palestine
Prof. (emerita) Elsa Auerbach, English Department, University of Massachusetts Boston, daughter of German Holocaust refugees
Prof. (emeritus) Emmanuel Farjoun, Einstein Institute of Mathematics, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Dr. Eric Kligerman, Associate Professor of German and Jewish Studies, Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures University of Florida
Prof. (emerita) Esther Dischereit, Writer, poet and Professor of Language Arts, University for Applied Arts Vienna, winner of the Erich Fried Prize (2009)
Prof. Eva Illouz, The Department of Sociology and Anthropology, The Hebrew University Jerusalem, The European Centre for Sociology and Political Science , Paris, winner of the EMET Prize (2018)
Prof. Eva Jablonka, Cohn Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science and Ideas, Tel Aviv University
Dr. Eyal Clyne, Department of History, Politics & Philosophy, The University of Manchester, specializes in Israel-Palestine and in Jewish and Zionist thought
Dr. (emerita) Florence Lederer, Laboratory of Physical Chemistry, Université Paris-Sud
Prof. (emeritus) Francis Lowenthal, Cognitive Sciences, University of Mons
Prof. Gabriele Bergers, Department of Oncology, University of Leuven
Prof. Gadi Algazi, Professor of Medieval History, The Department of History, Tel Aviv University, and associate fellow at Re:Work: International Research Center Work and Human Lifecycle in Global History at Humboldt University in Berlin
Dr. Gal Levy, Department of Political Science, Sociology & Communication, The Open University of Israel, specializes in the context of Israel-Palestine
Prof. (emerita) Galia Golan, Darwin Professor, The Department of Political Science, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Dr. Gayle Levy, Associate Professor, Foreign Languages Department and director of UMKC Honors College, University of Missouri-Kansas City, specializes in Nazi-Germany and the Holocaust
Prof. (emeritus) Gideon Freudenthal, The Cohn Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science and Ideas, Tel Aviv University
Prof. (emeritus) Graeme Segal, Mathematics, All Souls College
Dr. Hadas Leonov, Software Developer, Bruker BioSpin GmbH, Rheinstetten, Germany
Hadas Pe’ery, Composer, sound artist, educator and activist, teaching fellow at The Buchmann-Mehta School of Music, Tel Aviv University
Prof. Hagit Borer, FBA Chair in Linguistics, SLLF Queen Mary, University of London
Prof. Haim Bresheeth, Centre for Media and Film Studies, SOAS University of London and Director of Camera Obscura Films
Dr. Halleli Pinson, The Department Of Education, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
Prof. (emerita) Hanan J. Kisch, Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
Dr. Hannah Safran, Feminist Research Center, Haifa, specializes in the context of Israel-Palestine
Dr. Heidi Grunebaum, Associate Professor at the Centre for Humanities Research University of the Western Cape, specializes in memory and reconciliation in Germany, South Africa and Israel-Palestine
Dr. Hila Amit, Independent scholar of Queer Theory and Migration and Diaspora Studies
Dr. Hilla Dayan, Sociology, Amsterdam University College, specializes in the context of Israel-Palestine
Dr. Idan Landau, Department of Foreign Literatures and Linguistics, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
Dr. Ilan Saban, Faculty of Law, University of Haifa, specializes in minority rights, international law, and Nationalism
Dr. Ilana Hammerman, Writer, editor, translator and activist, winner of the Yeshayahu Leibowitz Prize (2015)
Dr. Inna Michaeli, Independent scholar and activist
Dr. Irit Dekel, Research Associate, Jena Center for Reconciliation Studies Friedrich Schiller University, specializes in memory politics in Germany and Israel
Prof. Ishay Rosen-Zvi, Head of the Talmud and Late Antiquity section in the department of Jewish Philosophy, Tel Aviv University
Prof. Isaac (Yanni) Nevo, The Department of Philosophy, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
Dr. Itamar Kastner, Humboldt University, Berlin
Dr. Itamar Shachar, Marie Curie Post-doctoral fellow, Department of Anthropology, University of Amsterdam
Dr. Itay Snir, Political Philosophy, Tel Aviv University, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, The Open University of Israel
Prof. (emeritus) Jacob Katriel, Chemistry Department, Technion – Israel Institute of Technology
Prof. James Cohen, Anglophone World Department, Université de Paris 3 Sorbonne Nouvelle
Dr. Jared Margulies, Post-doctoral fellow, Department of Politics, University of Sheffield
Prof. Jason Stanley, Jacob Urowsky Professor of Philosophy, Yale University
Dr. (emeritus) Jeanne Fagnani, Senior researcher at The French National Centre for Scientific Research, associate researcher at the Institute of Economic and Social Research, member of the scientific committee of the Nicolas Hulot Foundation for Nature and Mankind
Dr. Jeffrey Melnick, American Studies Department, University of Massachusetts
Prof. (emeritus) Joel Beinin, Donald J. McLachlan Professor of History and Professor of Middle East History, Stanford University
Prof. Joel Gordon, The Department of History, University of Arkansas Fayetteville
Prof. Judith Butler, Maxine Elliot Professor of Comparative Literature and Critical Theory, University of California, Berkeley
Prof. Judith Norman, Department of Philosophy, Trinity University San Antonio, Texas USA
Prof. (emeritus) Jules Chametzky, Department of English, University of Massachusetts
Dr. Karel Arnaut, Associate Professor and Research Coordinator of the Interculturalism, Migration and Minorities Research Centre (IMMRC), Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
Prof. (emerita) Karen Brodkin, Department of Anthropology, University of California, Los Angeles, specializes in anti-Semitism and racism
Dr. Katharina Galor, Hirschfeld Visiting Associate Professor of Judaic Studies, Brown University
Kathy Wazana, Documentary filmmaker, Master’s student at the Department of Cinema and Media Arts, York University
Dr. Katy Fox-Hodess, Lecturer in Employment Relations, Accreditations Management School, University of Sheffield
Prof. Kobi Peterzil, Department of Mathematics, University of Haifa
Dr. Kobi Snitz, Mathematics Department, Weizmann Institute of Science
Prof. (emeritus) Laurence Dreyfus, Faculty of Music, University of Oxford
Prof. (emeritus) Lawrence Blum, Professor of Philosophy, and Distinguished Professor of Liberal Arts and Education University of Massachusetts Boston, specializes in anti-Semitism and the Holocaust
Dr. Les Levidow, Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences, Open University, UK
Dr. Lin Chalozin-Dovrat, The Cohn Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science and Ideas and Minerva Humanities Center, Tel Aviv University
Prof. (emerita) Linda Dittmar, The English Department, University of Massachusetts, specializes in the context of Israel-Palestine
Prof. Linda Gordon, Florence Kelley Professor of History, New York University, specializes in right-wing populism
Dr. Lior Volinz, Post-doctoral researcher at the Crime and Society (CRiS) research group, Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Prof. Lisa Baraitser, Department of Psychosocial Studies, Birkbeck Institute, University of London
Dr. Lisa Stampnitzky, Department of Politics, University of Sheffield, specializes in political violence
Prof. (emeritus) Louis Kampf, Literature and Women’s & Gender Studies, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Prof. Louise Bethlehem, English and Cultural Studies, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, specializes in South African apartheid
Prof. Lynne Segal, Psychosocial Studies, Birkbeck Institute, University of London
Prof. (emeritus) Marc David, Department of Mathematics – Computer Science, Universiteit Antwerpen
Prof. (emeritus) Marc Steinling, School of Medicine, University of Lille Nord de France
Prof. Marianne Hirsch, William Peterfield Trent Professor of English, Department of English and Comparative Literature, co-director of the Institute for Research on Women, Gender and Sexuality, Columbia University, specializes in politics of memory, the Holocaust and Jewish memory
Prof. (emerita) Marianne Lederer, Former director of the School of Interpreters and Translators (ESIT), Université Paris 3 Sorbonne Nouvelle
Dr. Marie-José Durand-Richard, Associated researcher at Laboratoire SPHERE, Université Paris Diderot and honorary lecturer of Mathematics and History of Science, Université Paris 8
Dr. Mark Levene, Parkes Centre for Jewish/non-Jewish Relations, University of Southampton
Prof. (emeritus) Mateo Alaluf, Institute of Sociology, Université Libre de Bruxelles
Prof. (emeritus), Maurice Pasternak, Artist and Professor at L’École nationale supérieure des arts visuels de La Cambre
Prof. Menachem Klein, Department of Political Studies, Bar-Ilan University, former advisor for Israeli officials regarding negotiations with Palestinian counterparts and participant in several Israeli-Palestinian peace talks
Prof. Michael Chanan, Department of Media, Culture and Language, University of Roehampton
Prof. Michael Keren, Department of Economics, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Prof. (cmeritus) Micah Leshem, The Department of Psychology, University of Haifa
Prof. Michael Rothberg, 1939 Society Samuel Goetz Chair in Holocaust Studies, Department of Comparative Literature, University of California, specializes in Holocaust studies
DipEd. Michel Staszewski, Visiting Researcher Department of Education Free University of Brussels
Dr. Mir Yarfitz, Associate Professor of History, Jewish Studies, Latin American and Latino Studies, Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, Wake Forest University
Dr. Miriam Ticktin, Associate Professor of Anthropology, The New School for Social Research
Prof. (emeritus) Mordechai Shechter, The Department of Economics and The Department of Natural Resource & Environmental Management, University of Haifa, former Rector of the University of Haifa, former President of Tel-Hai Academic College, former head of Israel’s National Parks and Nature Reserves Authority Council
Prof. (emeritus) Moshe Zimmermann, Former director of the Richard Koebner Minerva Center for German History, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, specializes in the German Jewry during the Second World War and anti-Semitism
Prof. (emeritus) Moshe Zuckermann, The Cohn Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science and Ideas, Tel Aviv University, son of Holocaust survivors, specializes in Zionism and anti-Semitism
Prof. (emeritus) Moshé Machover, Professor of Philosophy, University of London
Dr. Na’ama Rokem, Associate Professor of Modern Hebrew Literature & Comparative Literature, University of Chicago, specializes in Zionist and Israeli literature, and German-Jewish relations
Dr. Nadia Valman, Reader in English Literature Co-director, of the Raphael Samuel History Centre, Queen Mary, University of London, specializes in Jewish History
Dr. Naor Ben-Yehoyada, Assistant Professor, Department of Anthropology, Columbia University
Prof. Neve Gordon, Department of Politics and Government, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, specializes in human rights and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
Prof. Nicholas Stargardt, History Department, Magdalen College, specializes in the history of Nazi Germany
Dr. Nina Caputo, Associate Professor, Department of History, University of Florida
Prof. Nir Gov, Department of Chemical and Biological Physics, Weizmann Institute of Science
Prof. (emeritus) Nira Yuval-Davis, Honorary Director Centre for Migration, Refugees & Belonging, The University of East London
Dr. Noa Roei, Literary and Cultural Analysis, University of Amsterdam, specializes in the context of Israel-Palestine
Prof. (emeritus) Noam Chomsky, Department of Linguistics and Philosophy, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Laureate Professor, The Department of Linguistics, University of Arizona
Prof. (emerita), Nomi Erteschik-Shir, Department of Foreign Literatures and Linguistics, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
Prof. Nurit Peled-Elhanan, The School of Education, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem and The David Yellin Academic College of Education, co-winner of the Sakharov Prize (2001)
Prof. Oded Goldreich, Computer Science, Weizmann Institute of Science
Dr. Oded Na’aman, Martin Buber Society of Fellows in the Humanities and Social Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Prof. Ofer Aharony, Faculty of Physics, Weizmann Institute of Science
Dr. Ofri Ilany, Post-doctoral fellow, The Polonsky Academy The Van Leer Jerusalem Institute, specializes in German history and in German-Jewish relations
D.Arch Olivier Tric, Honorary teacher at School of Architecture of Nantes
Prof. Oren Yiftachel, Department of Geography and Environmental Development, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
Dr. Orian Zakai, The Department of Classical and Near Eastern Languages, The George Washington University
Prof. Pascal Lederer, Honorary research director at The French National Centre for Scientific Research
Dr. Patricia Schor, Department of Social Sciences, Amsterdam University College, specializes in nationalism, race and racism
Prof. (emeritus) Paul Mendes-Flohr, Dorothy Grant Maclear Professor Emeritus of Modern Jewish History and Thought, Associate Faculty in the Department of History, The University of Chicago Divinity School
Dr. Peter Cosyns, Post-doctoral researcher, Art History and Archeology, Free University Brussels
Pierre Getzler, Artist, “Pupille de la Nation”, his father died in July 1940 fighting with the French Foreign Legion against Nazi Germany and received The Cross of War decoration, his mother was deported to Auschwitz where she died in 1943
Dr. R. Ruth Linden, UCSF School of Medicine, founder of the Holocaust Media Project
Prof. Rachel Giora, Department of Linguistics, Tel Aviv University
Dr. Ran Greenstein, Associate professor, Department of Sociology, University of the Witwatersrand, specializes in the context of Israel-Palestine
Dr. Ran HaCohen, Department of Literature, Tel Aviv University, specializes in German-Jewish literature
Dr. Raya Cohen, Department of History, Tel Aviv University and The University of Naples Federico II, specializes in the history of the Holocaust and in the context of Israel-Palestine
Rela Mazali, Independent scholar, writer and peace activist
Revital Madar, PhD candidate, The Cultural Studies Program, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, specializes in the context of Israel-Palestine
Prof. (emeritus) Richard Falk, Milbank Professor of International Law, Princeton University and former UN Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Occupied Palestine (2008-14)
Prof. Robert C. Rosen, Department of English, William Paterson University
Dr. Roi Livne, Department of Sociology, University of Michigan
Prof. (emeritus) Rolf Verleger, Psychologist, Member of the Central Council of Jews in Germany 2005-2009
M.D. Rony Brauman, Director of Studies at the Fondation Médecins Sans Frontières, associate professor at the Institute of Political Studies in Paris, and director of the Humanitarian and Conflict Response Institute at the University of Manchester, United Kingdom.
Prof. Roy Wagner, Department of Humanities, Social and Political Sciences, ETH Zürich
Dr. Sagi Schaefer, History Department, Tel Aviv University, specializes in the history of modern Germany
Dr. Sara Roy, Senior Research Scholar, Center for Middle Eastern Studies, Harvard University, specializes in the context of Israel-Palestine
Prof. Sergio Tenenbaum, Department of Philosophy, University of Toronto
Dr. Seth Anziska, Department of Hebrew and Jewish Studies, University College London, specializes Jewish-Muslim relations and in the context of Israel-Palestine
Prof. Seth L. Sanders, Professor of Religious Studies, Director of the Graduate Group for the Study of Religion Member, Jewish Studies Program University of California, Davis
Prof. Dr. Shani Tzoref, School of Jewish Theology, Hebrew Bible and Biblical Exegesis, University of Potsdam
Prof. (emerita) Sherna Gluck, Director of the Oral History Program, Department of History, California State University Long Beach, specializes in the context of Israel-Palestine
Dr. Sheryl Nestel, Independent Scholar, Toronto, specializes in race and racism
Dr. Shir Hever, Political Science, Free University of Berlin, specializes in the context of Israel-Palestine
Shira Havkin, PhD candidate in Political Sociology, Centre d’Études et de Recherches Internationales, Sciences-Po Paris
Prof. (emerita) Shlomith Rimmon-Kenan, English Department and the Department of General and Comparative Literature, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Prof. (emeritus) Shlomo Moran, Computer Science Department, Technion – Israel Institute of Technology
Prof. (emeritus) Shlomo Sand, History Department, Tel Aviv University
Prof. Sidney Corbett, composer and teacher at the Mannheim University of Music and Performing Arts
Prof. Simona Sharoni, Director of the Women’s & Gender Studies Department, Interdisciplinary Institute, Merrimack College
Smadar Ben Natan, PhD candidate, Zvi Meitar Center for Advanced Legal studies, Buchmann Faculty of Law, Tel Aviv University
Dr. Snait B. Gissis, Cohn Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science and Ideas Tel Aviv University, specializes in racism
Prof. (emerita) Sonia Dayan-Herzbrun, Social Sciences, University Paris Diderot-Paris 7
Prof. Stephen Clingman, Department of English, University of Massachusetts
Prof. Stephen Deutsch, Professor of Post-Production, Department of Media Production, Bournemouth University
Prof. Stephen R. Shalom, Political Science Department, William Paterson University, member of the executive board of the Gandhian Forum for Peace & Justice
Prof. (emeritus) Steve Golin, History Department, Bloomfield College
Dr. Steven Levine, Associate Professor of Philosophy, University of Massachusetts
Prof. (emeritus) Steven Rose, Neuroscience, The Open University, UK
Prof. Susan Slyomovics, Department of Anthropology, University of California, Los Angeles, specializes in human rights, German Reparations and Israel-Palestine
Dr. Sven-Erik Rose, Associate Professor of German and Comparative Literature, chair of the Department of German and Russian, University of California, Davis, specializes in German and German-Jewish literature and thought and Holocaust Studies
Dr. Tal Shuval, Department of History, Philosophy and Judaic studies, The Open University of Israel, specializes in the context of Israel-Palestine
Dr. Tamar Blickstein, Post-doctoral researcher, Affective Societies, The Free University of Berlin
Prof. Tamar Rapoport, The Paul Baerwald School of Social Work and Social Welfare, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Prof. Tamir Sorek, Sociology and Jewish Studies, University of Florida, specializes in the context of Israel-Palestine
Dr. Terri Ginsberg, Assistant Professor, Department of the Arts, The American University in Cairo
Dr. Tom Pessah, Independent scholar and activist
Prof. (emeritus) Tommy Dreyfus, Mathematics Education, School of Education, Tel Aviv University
Udi Aloni, Writer and filmmaker, specializes in Jewish and Zionist thought and in the context of Israel-Palestine
Prof. Uri Hadar, Head of Gerontological Clinical Psychology department, Ruppin Academic Center
Prof. (emerita) Vered Kraus, Department of Sociology, University of Haifa
Prof. Victor Ginsburgh, The European Center for Advanced Research in Economics and Statistics, Université Libre de Bruxelles
Prof. Willie van Peer, Intercultural Hermeneutics, Ludwig Maximilian University, Munich
Yaara Benger Alaluf, Post-doctoral fellow at The Center for The History of Emotions, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin
Dr. Yael Politi, Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, Potsdam
Dr. Yair Wallach, Head of the Centre for Jewish Studies, Department of the Languages and Cultures of the Near and Middle East, SOAS, University of London, specializes in the context of Israel-Palestine
Prof. Yakov Rabkin, The Montreal Centre for International Studies and the Department of History, Université de Montréal, specializes in history of Jewish and Zionist thought
Dr. Yali Hashash, Haifa Feminist Research Center, Women and Gender Studies Program and The Oral History Laboratory: Life-stories under oppression at The Zvi Yavetz School of Historical Studies, Tel Aviv University
Dr. Yann Guillaud, Lecturer at The Paris School of International Affairs (PSIA), Sciences Po
Prof. (emeritus) Yehoshua Kolodny, Institute of Earth Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, winner of the Israel Prize (2010)
Prof. Yinon Cohen, Yosef H. Yerushalmi Professor of Israel & Jewish Studies, Department of Sociology, Columbia University
Prof. (emeritus) Yonathan (Jon) Anson, Department of Social Work, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
Prof. Yosef Grodzinsky, The Edmond and Lily Safra Center for Brain Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Prof. Yosefa Loshitzky, Centre for Media Studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London
Prof. Yuri Pines, Director, The Louis Frieberg Center for East Asian Studies Department of Asian Studies The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Dr. Yuval Eylon, The Department of History, Philosophy and Judaic Studies, The Open University of Israel
Dr. Yuval Yonay, Department of Sociology, University of Haifa
Dr. Zvi Bekerman, The Seymour Fox School of Education, The Melton Centre for Jewish Education and research fellow at The Harry S. Truman Research Institute for the Advancement of Peace, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, specializes in intercultural encounters and minority education==================================================
Israeli academics sign a petition encouraging the United Methodist Church to divest from “companies that enable the occupation to continue” e-mail@israel-academia-monitor.comMon, Jan 28, 2008, 10:46 PM
http://www.petitiononline.com/Israelis/petition.html

Israeli academics, listed below, signed a petition encouraging the United Methodist Church “to divest from companies that enable the occupation to continue, we the undersigned shall applaud your courageous initiative, and fervently hope that it will set an example for many others to follow…”: Ofer Neiman, Dalit Baum, Roman Vater, kobi snitz, Anat Matar, Yael Korin, Udi Adiv, Prof. Kobi Peterzil, Hannah Safran, Haim Bresheeth, Ur Shlonsky, Moshe Machover, Dana Ron, Yael Ronen and others.

http://www.petitiononline.com/Israelis/petition.html
Letter of Support from Israelis to the United Methodist Church

We endorse the Letter of Support from Israelis to the United Methodist
Church Petition to James E. Winkler, General Secretary of the United
Methodist Church.

To:  James E. Winkler, General Secretary of the United Methodist Church
Letter of support from Israelis to the
2008 General Conference of the United Methodist Church
January 22, 2008

We, as Israelis, express our support of the 2004 resolution adopted by the
General Conference of the Methodist Church that states “The United
Methodist Church opposes continued military occupation of the West Bank,
Gaza, and East Jerusalem, the confiscation of Palestinian land and water
resources, the destruction of Palestinian homes, the continued building of
illegal Jewish settlements and any vision of a ‘Greater Israel’ that
includes the occupied territories and the whole of Jerusalem and its
surroundings [Book of Resolutions, 2004, #12].” Should the Methodist
Church in the wake of the above resolution elect to divest from companies
that enable the occupation to continue, we the undersigned shall applaud
your courageous initiative, and fervently hope that it will set an example
for many others to follow.

We assure the Methodist Church that it is no more anti-Semitic to
criticize and oppose Israeli government policies than it was anti-American
to oppose the Vietnam war or is anti-American to oppose the present war in
Iraq. It is never anti-Semitic to oppose injustice, destruction, gross
inequity, and inequality. We also assure the Church that Israel, having
the fourth most powerful military in the world, is in no existential
danger.

As citizens devoted to the promotion of peace and democracy in the region,
we denounce the international community’s continued economic investments
in our country which directly and indirectly support Israel’s daily
violations of international law and colonization of the occupied
territories. We fear the potentially irreversible damage created by
Israeli occupation, by Israel’s unilateral plans, and by the international
community’s impotence in ending Israel’s occupation. We realize that
Israel’s occupation of Palestinians and their lands will probably not end
without international sanctions.

Moreover, Israelis, as well as Palestinians, will benefit from ending the
occupation Symmetry never exists between occupier and occupied, oppressor
and oppressed. Yet Israelis suffer from loss of life, increase in
militarism, and a steady devaluation of human life. This latter is
particularly evident in the socio-economic sphere and the affliction of
post-traumatic distress.

Successive Israeli governments have spent enormous amounts of money on
expansion, to the detriment of social benefits for the Israeli population.
While it is true that had there been no occupation, Israeli governments
might not have spent the money on social benefits, the fact that expansion
continues apace alongside continued endeavors of ethnic cleansing reveals
Israel’s intention to rid the West Bank of as many Palestinians as
possible and to prevent the emergence of a Palestinian state.

To this end, money is spent on maintaining a large military presence in
the occupied Palestinian Territories, on erecting the apartheid wall at 4
million dollars a mile, with 400 miles planned (twice as long as if it had
been built on the ‘green line’), and constructing more housing units in
highly subsidized settlements. In December 2007, for instance, the Israeli
Housing Ministry announced that it was building 300 more units on Har Homa
(Jabal Abu Ghnaim to Palestinians), with another 1000 intended, and more
recently has begun construction of 60 homes in the Ras Al-Amud section of
East Jerusalem. Israel claims Har Homa to be a part of Jerusalem, but the
international community regards Israel’s construction on it and in East
Jerusalem to be further illegal colonization of Palestinian land. Given
the subsidies and other perks with which Israel lures Israelis to colonize
the West Bank, it is small wonder that population increase in the occupied
Palestinian territory is five to six percent, by contrast to the two to
three percent maximum growth in Israeli communities within Israel proper.
Israel additionally spends much on constructing super-highways for
Israelis-only in the occupied Palestinian Territories, as well as for
lookout towers (that can double as sniper towers), and checkpoints galore.
Furthermore, the majority of the more than 500 checkpoints separate
Palestinian communities from one another.

While all this is taking place at considerable economic cost, poverty in
Israel has increased sharply. Israel in 2006 gained the dubious notoriety
of having the worst poverty level in the Western world, and has retained
this position through 2007. Over one quarter of Israelis now live under
the poverty line. One of every three children goes to bed hungry. And
every fourth elderly person is poor. No wonder, then, that many of
Israel’s elderly are “suicidal.” The Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronot
revealed in a report that over 50 percent of suicides in Israel every year
are committed by people aged 65 and over. And there are additional
worrying trends. Not only are the few rich getting richer and the numerous
poor getting poorer, but also many in the middle class who have jobs are
sliding into poverty due to low wages. The Adva Center report of December
2007 showed that a fifth of Israeli wage earners are now living under the
poverty line.

One result of the increased poverty is that 25% of Israelis forego medical
care because they cannot afford it. 75% of the poor cannot afford
medication. But of all the sad statistics, one of the more shocking is
that over 80,000 Holocaust survivors—now mostly aged individuals–live in
desperate straits. It is shameful that of all places in the world, in
Israel, Holocaust survivors live in dire poverty and misery.

The worsening economic conditions contribute, in turn, to escalation of
violence. Thus, for instance, one of every five elderly Israelis is
subject to abuse, mainly by spouses or children. And the Israeli police
recorded a 24% increase in violence among youth the first months of 2006.

A direct cost of occupation and a threat to Israel’s welfare is
post-traumatic stress, which can result in addiction to drugs and alcohol,
and can also contribute to violence. A counselor at a rehabilitation
center terms the malady “a ticking bomb,” Help, he relates, is unavailable
for many soldiers who have gone “into terrible distress of drugs,
beatings, violence, impatience, … soldiers who clashed with a civilian
population, and when they were discharged understood that they had been
wrong.” Hundreds, he reveals, “are roaming about with the feeling that
there is no point to living, and the path to suicide and drugs is very
easy. We are afraid that former soldiers will commit criminal acts as a
result of their distress.”

On the Palestinian end of the occupation, the situation is far worse both
economically and in terms of security. For Palestinians, occupation means
a loudspeaker in the middle of the night ordering residents out of their
homes, regardless of whether it’s winter or summer, hot or cold, wet or
dry. Occupation means long waits at checkpoints, even in emergencies.
Occupation means that one needs permits to go to one’s fields, permits
that are often not given. Even when permits are given, the Palestinian
farmer often finds that the military gates that control accessing his
fields are closed and fail to open, and, for that matter, fail to open
also for children on their way to school. Occupation means land theft and
uprooting of olive trees, some of which are 100s of years old, all of
which are means of sustenance for the Palestinian people, some now the
only means.

Occupation means curfews, during which sick people can and do die.
Occupation means that one’s home can turn into rubble in minutes, as
bulldozers or explosives demolish it, along with its furnishings, toys,
family photograph albums, computers, and all else. Occupation means
imprisonment. Approximately 11,000 Palestinians are now incarcerated in
Israeli facilities.

Israeli Occupation means apartheid. The separation wall is one instance;
four additional ones are water, roads, home construction, and checkpoints.
Of 960 million cubic meters of water that is generated in the West Bank,
Palestinians are allowed to use only one-tenth of it. The rest goes to
Israelis. On average, a Palestinian citizen in the West Bank is allowed to
use no more than 36 cubic meters of water per year, while Israeli settlers
in the West Bank can use up to 2,400 cubic meters. Palestinians are not
permitted to drive on ‘settler’ roads, which are highly superior to other
roads in the occupied Palestinian territories. Palestinians are not
allowed to build houses or even to add rooms, while Jewish settlement
building continues uninhibited. Checkpoints also discriminate. Israelis,
tourists, and Jews from abroad can go from the Territories to Israel via
many checkpoints, but Palestinians having permits are allowed to enter
Israel only through 11 of them, forcing Palestinians fortunate enough to
have a permit to travel far out of the way on their way to work or for
medical care in Israel.

For the above reasons, we Israeli seekers of peace and justice express our
sincere gratitude to the Methodist Church for its stand on the occupation,
and support the proposals before the General Conference this April on
divestment. Boycott and divestment are non-violent means of pressuring
governments to change their policies–means now sorely needed to compel
the Israeli government to end its occupation of Palestinians and their
lands and thereby to better the lives of Israelis as well as of
Palestinians.
——————

Sincerely,

The Undersigned

Name address
97. Creighton Lacy WNC Annual Conference
96. William Greene
95. Emily Schaeffer Tel Aviv, Israel
94. Rosamine Hayeem London, UK
93. Udi Adiv Detrech Tzarfat 32, Haifa
92. Prof. Kobi Peterzil Haifa
91. ruth victor Jerusalem
90. Yali Amit
89. Hannah Safran Haifa
88. Haim Bresheeth
87. hava halevi 21 shimshom st. jerusalem 93501

86. Areej Sabbagh-Khoury
85. Lily Traubmann Kibutz Megiddo
84. Dr. Sara Fischman
83. galit hess
82. Ruth Tenne
81. ginzburg shaul
80. yifat doron
79. Janet Green
78. Ur Shlonsky
77. Alissa Ben-Ari
76. Noa Shaindlinger
75. Jaye N. White Fayetteville, NC
74. Eli Hamo
73. Yael Oren Kahn UK
72. racheli bar-or
71. Yisrael Puterman tel aviv
70. yasmin sivan
69. eytan lerner
68. Matan Cohen
67. Moshe Machover
66. Yotam Pappo
65. Itamar Shachar
64. Rela Mazali Herzlia
63. David Nir Tel Aviv, Israel
62. Amit Ron
61. yoav barak Tel Aviv
60. aharon Shabtai 27 gruzenberg st. Tel Aviv, 65811
59. Adi Dagan Tel Aviv, Israel
58. Yael Ronen Beer Sheva
57. Elchounon Esterovitz
56. Amit Perelson Haifa
55. Jonathan Pollak
54. Angela Godfrey-Goldstein Jerusalem
53. Oded Goldreich Tel Aviv
52. Yossi Bartal
51. Dana Ron Tel Aviv
50. Haggai Matar Tel Aviv – Jaffa
49. Benjamin Rosendahl
48. Ellen Naor 3403 NE 80th St, Seattle, WA 98112 USA
47. Jacob Naor, Ph.D. 3403 NE 80th St, Seattle, WA 98112 USA
46. Linda L Golden 13827 Sandy Oak Rd, Chester, VA 23831
45. Dorit Naaman
44. Teddy Katz Magal, Israel
43. Mary Alice Nesbitt
42. Kfir Cohen
41. Gideon Spiro גדעון ספירו Israel (Within the Green Line)
40. Amos Gvirtz Shefayim, Israel
39. Yael Lerer Tel Aviv
38. jake javanshir
37. Yvonne Deutsch  Jerusalem

36. annelien kisch-kroon ramat hasharon , Israel
35. Ofra Ben- Artzi Jerusalem
34. Sandra Ruch Israeli in Toronto
33. noa schwartz tel aviv, israel
32. michal schwartz tel aviv, israel
31. Judy Blanc
30. Beatrice Eichten
29. Bilha Golan
28. tsilli goldenberg israel
27. ofer neiman Israel
26. Galit Kadan Toronto, Canada
25. Dalit Baum Tel Aviv
24. Susanne Moses
23. Roman Vater
22. DINA GOOR
21. Hanna Braun London; UK
20. Merav Amir Tel Aviv
19. Alla Nikonov š
18. kobi snitz haifa
17. Hillel Barak Haifa, Israel
16. ruchama marton Tel Aviv
15. Reuven Kaminer Jerusalem
14. Maxine Kaufman-Lacusta
13. Avishai Chelouche Pardes-Hana, Israel
12. Anat Matar
11. Jeannette Herzberg Israel
10. PNINA Feiler KIBBUTZ YAD-HANNA
9. Tamar Yaron Kibbutz Hazorea
8. Yael Korin
7. eileen fleming http://www.wearewideawake.org/USA
6. Paul H. Verduin Silver Spring, Maryland
5. Eldad Benary A Israeli in NY
4. Smadar Carmon
3. Eldad Benary A Israeli in NY
2. Israel Naor Herzliah, Israel
1. Dorothy Naor Herzliah, Israel

The Letter of Support from Israelis to the United Methodist Church
Petition to James E. Winkler, General Secretary of the United Methodist
Church was created by and written by Dorothy Naor
(dor_naor@netvision.net.il).

====================================================

http://www.wisdom.weizmann.ac.il/~oded/PS/anat-bds.doc

על ההקשר של החרם האקדמי על ישראל

[מתוך תשובת ענת מטר לדיונים ברשת אוניברסיטאית על עניין החרם האקדמי על ישראל.]

[עריכה (ובפרט הדגשות) על ידי עודד גולדרייך]

בשנת 2005 יצאה קריאה מטעם החברה האזרחית הפלסטינית לחרם, משיכת השקעות וסנקציות על מדינת ישראל ומוסדותיה. על הקריאה הזו חתומים גופים רבים, איגודי עובדים, ארגונים חוץ-ממשלתיים ומפלגות, המבקשים לקדם מאבק לא מזוין בכיבוש המתמשך ובמדיניות האפרטהייד של ישראל. המהלך הזה הוא חלק ממכלול, אשר צד אחר שלו הוא, למשל, ההפגנות השבועיות נגד גדר ההפרדה וגזל האדמות. מי שהצטרפו למאבק הזה דוחים, מצד אחד, את שיתוף הפעולה המתמשך של הרשות הפלסטינית עם הפארסה המכונה “תהליך השלום”, ומצד שני את דרך ההתנגדות המזוינת.

הקריאה לחרם שואבת את השראתה מן המאבק באפרטהייד בדרום-אפריקה. מובן שהנסיבות ההיסטוריות אינן זהות, וגם צורות המאבק השונות אינן זהות, אבל ישנם קווי דמיון בצורת המשטר והתנהגותו, וכן ביחס הקהילה הבינלאומית (אני מתכוונת בראש וראשונה לתמיכה המסיבית של ארה”ב ואנגליה, בצד שאט-הנפש של קהילות בינלאומיות, איגודים מקצועיים וכו’). לא אעמיק כאן בניתוח ההשוואות; אציין רק כי אישים רבים, שנודעו במאבקם בדרום-אפריקה של האפרטהייד, מוצאים קווי דמיון כאלה ותומכים במהלכי ההחרמות נגד ישראל בשל כך.

החרם הוא המכשיר הפוליטי של הקהילה האזרחית – הפלסטינית, הבינלאומית, וגם הקהילה הישראלית הזעירה המבקשת להפגין סולידריות עם המאבק הזה, כמיטב יכולתה. הוא איננו תכלית לעצמה וגם לא צעד “מוסרי” גרידא; דהיינו, אין הוא צעד המצדיק את עצמו ומנותק מאפשרויות ההצלחה שלו. הוא כלי. ככזה, הוא כפוף לנסיבות, ואם יתברר, למשל, שהוא מזיק יותר משהוא מועיל – גם בטווח הארוך הנראה לעין – יהיה נכון לסלקו. כרגע, ניתוח המצב מצביע – בעיני תומכי החרם, כמובן – על היותו אחד הכלים הבודדים שעשויים להוליך את ישראל לשינוי מדיניותה הנפשעת (אולי ישירות, ואולי דרך שינוי מדיניותן של מדינות אירופה, ואפילו ארה”ב – מה שקשה להאמין – ביחס אליה). יתר על כן, נראה שדרכים אחרות חסומות לגמרי. התמיכה האמריקאית המסיבית, שטיפת-המוח הלאומנית, תמיכתה הכמעט-טוטלית של האוכלוסייה היהודית בישראל במהלכי ממשלותיה (93% תמכו במבצע “עופרת יצוקה”, למשל), וכן, גם שיתוף פעולה, שלא לומר התגייסות, של האליטה הכלכלית, התקשורתית והאקדמית – כל אלה מצביעים על כך שללא לחץ חיצוני לא יחול שיפור. אין פירושו של דבר שיש לוותר על דרכים אחרות של מאבק לא מזוין. נהפוך הוא. עבודה בתוך הקהילה הישראלית-יהודית נחוצה, ובמקביל, כמובן, נחוצה גם עבודה פנימית בתוך הקהילה הכבושה.

האינטרס הגדול של ממשלות ישראל הוא שמירת מראית-עין של נורמליות. ישראל מבקשת להציג את עצמה כלפי העולם המערבי כחלק אינטגרלי ממנו, כמדינה דמוקרטית, פתוחה, מתקדמת, ליברלית. ככל שמדיניותה הופכת לאלימה יותר, ככל שאופייה מתרחק יותר מן הדימוי הזה, כך מתגברים מאמציה לשמר את הדימוי. הקמפיין של “מיתוג מחודש של ישראל” – אותו ביקר עמיתנו קרלו שטרנגר ב”הארץ” לפני ימים אחדים – הוא חוד החנית של המאמץ הזה. לקהילה התרבותית והאקדמית מייחדים אנשי הקמפיין, במשרדי החוץ וההסברה, תפקיד חשוב. הן אמורות להציג את פניה היפות של ישראל ובכך לטשטש את שאין לראות.

ההתנגדות לנורמליזציה היא אחת מהסיבות העיקריות לתמיכה במדיניות ההחרמות בכלל, וכאלה המופנות כלפי הקהילה התרבותית והאקדמית של ישראל בפרט. כך, למשל, מתארגנות מחאות נגד אירועי תרבות ישראליים הממומנים על ידי משרד החוץ ומכוונים ל”מיתוג המחודש” – כפי שקרה בפסטיבל טורונטו לקולנוע בשנה שעברה; אמנים מתבקשים על-ידי תומכי החרם שלא להופיע בישראל, מרצים מתבקשים שלא להשתתף בכנסים בארץ, וכדומה.

אולם תפקידה של האקדמיה אינו מסתכם בהיותה ה”פנים הנאורות” שיש להציג בפני העולם כמסכה. העולם האקדמי מחובר בטבורו לממסד המדינתי ומשרת אותו, באינספור פרויקטים צבאיים, מדיניים והסברתיים. במקביל, ביקורת על מדיניות הכיבוש והאפרטהייד של ישראל כמעט ואיננה מושמעת בו – למרות ניסיונות גורמים שונים לצייר את התמונה אחרת. כל אלה הובילו את מנסחי הקמפיין הפלסטיני להכללה, באפיון החרם, גם של קריאה למשיכת השקעות במוסדות האקדמיים ולהימנעות ממימון פרויקטים אקדמיים – בפרט, כמובן, פרויקטים המשרתים ישירות את הממשלה. הרעיון הכולל הוא, שוב, הרצון להקשות על ישראל להתמיד בכיבוש, הן על-ידי הפיכת הכיבוש ל”לא משתלם” והן על-ידי חשיפת המקום אליו הידרדרה החברה הישראלית בפני חבריה עצמה, בדרך של הצבת מראה. לכן, אין לדבר על חרם על האקדמיה באופן מופשט ומנותק מן ההיבטים האחרים של המאבק הלא-מזוין לסיום הכיבוש.

עד כאן הצגה בסיסית של הרקע ההכרחי לדיון.  אני מבקשת להתייחס עתה, בקיצור ככל שאוכל, לכמה עניינים שעלו בהתכתבויות שונות.

שאלת החרם האינדיווידואלי מול זה המוסדי

כאמור, החל משנת 2005 נתנה החברה האזרחית הפלסטינית צורה ממוסדת לחרם. בצד הפנייה לקהילה הבינלאומית להחרמה, משיכת השקעות וסנקציות כלפי ישראל, ישנו גם פירוט של אופני ההחרמה הרצויים, וגם הסברים על אופני החרמה לא רצויים. על פי הפירוט הזה, החרם על האקדמיה הישראלית אינו כולל הימנעות מהזמנת אקדמאים ישראליים להרצאות וכנסים בחו”ל, שיתופם במחקרים, שיפוט ופרסום מאמרים וספרים שלהם, וכדומה. עד כמה שידוע לי, החל מאותה שנה, 2005, לא רבים המקרים בהם בחרו אקדמאים ברחבי העולם בדרכי החרמה כאלה.

שתי שאלות נוספות עלו בהקשר זה. ראשית, האם האקדמאים האירופיים מאמצים את הנוסח המוסדי-בלבד עליו דיברתי. לפי מיטב התרשמותי, הקריאה הפלסטינית יצרה מין “רגולציה” של החרם, ולכן פחתו המקרים שבהם קיבלו ההחרמות צורה אינדיווידואלית מן הסוגים האמורים. מקרים כאלה היו ועוד יהיו בוודאי, אבל לא התמיכה בקריאה הפלסטינית לחרם היא המקדמת אותם, אלא להיפך. בכל מקרה, הקריאה הפלסטינית מצביעה על קיומם של “אזורים אפורים”, ולי, כמו לאחרים – פלסטינים, ישראלים וזרים – יש לעתים הסתייגויות מפעולת חרם כזו או אחרת. אחרי הכל, פועל כל אדם לפי טעמו הפוליטי ומזגו האישי.

שנית, האם תמיכה בחרם מוסדי אינה, למעשה, גם תמיכה בחרם אינדיווידואלי. ובכן, כאן התשובה היא כן ולא. מובן שאקדמאים ייפגעו מכך שעמיתיהם יסרבו להגיע לכאן לכנסים שהם מבקשים לארגן. אבל (אם נסלק יוזמות אישיות מן הסוג האמור לעיל), לא תהיה פגיעה בהזמנת אקדמאים ישראליים לשבתונים והרצאות, בפרסומים וכו’. לעומת זאת ברור שקרנות מחקר תדולדלנה, השקעות באוניברסיטה תצטמצמנה, וכו’. כן, זה מחיר שלדעתי הקהילה האקדמית רבת-הפריבילגיות צריכה לשלם – מן הנימוקים שהבאתי לעיל.

תמיכה במהלך מסוים (כמו תמיכה בחרם) מאפשרת – תמיד – ניצול שלו או פרשנות מוטעית שלו

(למשל שימוש בחרם על-ידי גורמים אנטישמיים, או אחרים, שאינם מונעים מרצון לסיום הכיבוש ומדיניות האפרטהייד בלבד). אפשרות זו קיימת, ולדעתי, כל שאפשר לעשות נגדה הוא הבהרה חד-משמעית של הרציונל של החרם, מטרותיו, מסגרתו, וכו’. מצד שני, לא רק מעשים, אלא גם מחדלים, מפורשים ומנוצלים על ידי גורמים שונים ומשונים, ודי לחכימא ברמיזא.

מדוע דווקא ישראל?

אחת מן השאלות הקשות יותר בה נתקלים תומכי החרם היא השאלה, הסבירה לגמרי, בעניין ייחודה של ישראל. האם פשעיה של ארה”ב קטנים יותר? ואלו של אנגליה? כידוע, חומסקי נמנע מהחרמה משום שהוא טוען שהיא מפלה את ישראל לרעה ביחס לארצו. מן הצד השני, נהג הפיסיקאי, פרופ’ דניאל עמית המנוח, להחרים גם את האקדמיה האמריקאית. אבל אני לא שם. למה? משום שהחרם הוא כלי פוליטי ולא מטרה לעצמה ומשום שיש כמה הבדלים בין ישראל לארה”ב. ציינתי שהחרם איננו מצדיק את עצמו כשלעצמו, במנותק מאפשרויות ההצלחה שלו, מהנסיבות. כדי לקבל הנמקה כזו צריך לאמץ גישה מסוימת ליחסים בין מוסר ומחשבה פוליטית. זו סוגיה פילוסופית חשובה, שלא זה הפורום המתאים לבירורה, אך דנתי בה ובכוונתי לדון בה בהקשרים המתאימים. על כל פנים, כמו במקרה של דרום-אפריקה, מסתמן סיכוי שהחרם על ישראל יישא פירות (ואולי משום כך הוא מבהיל כל כך ישראלים רבים). אין צל של אפשרות אפילו לדמיין חרם על כלכלתה, תרבותה והאקדמיה של ארה”ב, ומובן שאין שום סיכויי הצלחה לחרם כזה.

זה המקום בו שואל אדם את עצמו: האם תמכתי, או הייתי תומך, בחרם על דרום-אפריקה? מי שמשיב בחיוב, צריך לדעתי לשאול את עצמו מדוע לא כאן ועכשיו. [עודד: יתכנו תשובות סבירות לשאלה מדוע לא “כאן ועכשיו”, אבל תשובות סבירות צריכות להיות מנוסחות במונחים יחסיים (ולא מוחלטים) ולהתייחס לנסיבות הפוליטיות של “כאן ועכשיו” – הן מבחינת הצורך להחריף את המאבק במדיניות הישראלית והן מבחינת האפקטיביות הצפויה של צעדים מסוימים.]

שאלה מקבילה, מן הצד השני, נוגעת לפשעיהן של ארצות כמו סין או איראן. מדוע לא להחרים גם אותן? ובכן, ישראל מתיימרת להיות מדינה דמוקרטית יותר מסין או איראן, ולדעתי ליומרה הזו יש מחיר. יתר על כן, ישראל זוכה להטבות מפליגות ממדינות המערב בשל ה”דמוקרטיה” בה היא מתפארת לשווא. קיצוץ בפריבילגיות הללו, לנוכח מדיניותה, נראה לי מעשה ראוי וחשוב.

מדוע אינני מתפטרת?

השאלה הזו מניחה תשובה לשאלה אחרת: האם אני, כלשון העצומה, מבקשת לפגוע בעמיתיי ובתלמידיי, באוניברסיטת תל-אביב וביתר האוניברסיטאות בארץ? תשובתי (הצפויה) היא לא ולא. המוסד האקדמי היחיד בסביבה שהייתי רוצה באמת לפגוע בו הוא מכללת אריאל, ולכך, נדמה לי, שותפים גם אחרים. (אגב: אלה צריכים לשאול את עצמם אם אינם מייחלים לחרם על המרכז האוניברסיטאי באריאל; אם יסרבו להרצות שם ולהשתתף בכנסיו; אם יתמכו בהסבת השקעות ממנו. אם ישיבו בהן על השאלות הללו, ברי שאף הם שמים סייגים לאותו “חופש אקדמי” בו מרבים לנפנף כאן לשווא לאחרונה – ובצדק יעשו כן. אינני מבקשת חלילה לגזור גזירה שווה בין מכללת אריאל לבין האוניברסיטאות הישראליות, אולם את הנקודה הזו חשוב להבהיר.)

איך זה שאני תומכת בחרם ובכל זאת רוצה בטובת האוניברסיטה? ממש כשם שאני רוצה בטובת ישראל ומצדדת בחרם עליה. תביעה להתפטרותי מן האוניברסיטה גוררת גם תביעה להסתלקותי מן הארץ. אין לי צל של ספק שסיום הכיבוש ומדיניות האפרטהייד נחוצים למען עתיד טוב יותר, לכולנו, במקום הזה; וכאמור, אני מאמינה שלחץ בינלאומי, כפי שתיארתי לעיל, הוא כלי חשוב לקידום המטרה הזו. כולנו חברים בקהילות שונות, והפגנת סולידריות עם קהילה אחת עשויה להתנגש עם הסולידריות שאנחנו מפגינים כלפי האחרת.  הסולידריות הראשונית שלי עתה היא עם חבריי למאבק הבלתי מזוין נגד הכיבוש. עם זאת, אני רואה את עצמי בשר מבשרה של הקהילה האקדמית בישראל. היא חשובה לי, היא מהווה חלק משמעותי מחיי, תלמידיי חשובים לי מאד וכך גם עבודתי האקדמית. בוודאי שהתנגשות כזו יוצרת מתיחות – אולי אפילו סתירה. מי שמאמין שאפשר לחיות ללא סתירות ומתחים פנימיים, יבושם לו. בלי שום קשר לנושא הנוכחי, אני לא מאמינה באפשרות כזו. רצוי, כמובן, למוסס את המתח, ואת זאת אני עושה יום יום, בתפקודי באוניברסיטה ובשמאל.

לעניין הפגיעה באוניברסיטה יש להוסיף עוד שני היבטים לפחות. הראשון הוא שגם אמצעי השביתה (אף הוא אמצעי פוליטי, לא מנותק מהקשר ולא בר-הכללה באופן פורמלי), שכולנו או לפחות רובינו תומכים בו, עשוי להזיק בטווח הקצר. השביתה הגדולה של הסגל אכן הזיקה לכיסי האוניברסיטה. סטודנטים עזבו לטובת המכללות, בטענה ש”שם לא שובתים”. (למרבה השמחה הם התבדו – ראו את מכללת ספיר.) דרישות שאנחנו מעלים, בצדק רב, לגבי העסקתם של עובדי הקבלן, או המורים-מן-החוץ, אף הן מרעות לכאורה את מצבה הכלכלי של האוניברסיטה – ובכל זאת אנחנו מאמינים שהן מוצדקות, ואף מצדיקות שביתות וסנקציות שונות.

ההיבט השני נוגע למה שאפשר לקרוא לו בהכללה “המיליטריזם של האוניברסיטה”. שיתוף הפעולה הסמוי והגלוי עם הצבא, תוכניות הלימוד המיוחדות, מינוי מרצים שמוצנחים היישר מן הפיקוד הבכיר – כל אלה, שהאוניברסיטה נוטה להתגאות בהם, מזיקים לה, לטעמי, לא פחות מן התמיכה בחרם. הרבה יותר. אינני מתכוונת רק ליחסי-החוץ, לעובדה שהמיליטריזם הזה מקל על תומכי החרם. אני מתכוונת קודם כל לפרצופה של האוניברסיטה עצמה, לסדר היום של מחקריה, למחויבותה האזרחית.

עד כאן. חשבתי לכתוב לכם מסמך קצר המכיל תשובות לשאלות, אך משהתיישבתי לכתוב אותו הבנתי עד כמה ניסיון כזה הוא מופרך. ברור לי לגמרי עד כמה קשה סוגיית החרם (הכולל, וזה על האקדמיה בפרט). אינני מצפה לשכנע איש, אלא לסלק אי הבנות ולהציע לכם לראות את הדברים מפרספקטיבה אחרת. ברור לי גם שלשם ראייה כזו דרושה הסכמה מינימלית בעניינים הפוליטיים. יתר על כן, אני סבורה, וכתבתי על כך בהרחבה בהקשר האקדמי, כי דרוש לה גם שינוי בהוויה, באורח החיים. אבל, כאמור, עד כאן.

[מאי 2010]

====================================================

http://www.pacbi.org/etemplate.php?id=792

Academic freedom for whom?Comment by PACBI:

This important petition (below) issued by Israeli academics provides further support for PACBI’s consistent denunciation of the Israeli academy for its complicity in the system of oppression against Palestinians and its silence about the long-standing violation of the basic freedoms–including the academic freedom–of Palestinians. The petition also vindicates PACBI in its campaign for the institutional boycott of the Israeli academy.

As the background to the petition makes clear, the Israeli academy is not the bastion of dissent it is purported to be by those seeking to defend it and thus delegitimize the call for the academic boycott of Israel. The vast majority of the Israeli academic community are oblivious to the oppression of the Palestinian people–both inside Israel and in the occupied territory–and have never fought to oppose the practices and policies of their state. In fact, they duly serve in the reserve forces of the occupation army and as such are either perpetrators of or silent witnesses to the daily brutality of the occupation. They also do not hesitate to partner in their academic research with the security-military establishment that is the chief architect and executor of the occupation and other forms of oppression of the Palestinian people.

This initiative also shows that sadly, even those who wish to rouse their colleagues from their slumber seem to be the victims of amnesia or else are willfully ignoring the basic political context within which the academic freedom of Palestinian academics and students is being violated. That context is no other than the illegal, four-decades-old military occupation of Palestinian land, an occupation that has striven consistently to destroy Palestinian society and its institutions, including universities. That a petition issued by academics ignores this basic fact and is unwilling to condemn the occupation regime is very telling.

*******************************************
Text of the Petition Issued by Israeli Academics:

Academic freedom for whom?

The meaning of “academic freedom” is fairly obvious. It is something that is associated with democratic societies, and it is universally held in high esteem, even though its boundaries and limits are often unclear. Basically, where there is freedom to teach, study and carry out research in academic institutions, and to publish research-related books and articles, then academic freedom exists.

It is clear that there can be no real academic freedom in higher education unless it is possible to reach the institutions where one studies, teaches, and carries out research. Academics within the State of Israel are able to do this, but those working in the higher education institutions in the Occupied Palestinian Territories are not. There, checkpoints, blockades, walls and fences prevent thousands of students and teachers from leading a normal academic life, and lecturers with non-Palestinian passports, who wish to teach in those institutions, are prevented from staying for long enough to carry out meaningful continuous teaching.

The academic community of the State of Israel, which rightly demands academic freedom for its members both inside Israel and within the international academic community, has generally disregarded the demand for a similar freedom for Palestinian academics in the Occupied Territories for which the State of Israel is responsible. Because of this, and in view of the rapidly deteriorating situation in the Territories during the last couple of years, we approached all the senior faculty members in the major higher education and scientific research institutions in Israel: Bar Ilan University, Ben Gurion University, Haifa University, The Hebrew University, The Open University, the Technion (Israel Institute of Technology), Tel Aviv University, and the Weizmann Institute for Science. We sent them the following letter and petition:

Dear colleagues:

As academics and citizens of the State of Israel, whatever our political opinions may be, we see ourselves as having a duty to fight for the academic freedom of our Palestinian colleagues. We call upon the Government of Israel to honour and implement the right of freedom of movement, academic study and instruction in the State of Israel and the territories controlled by it. Academic freedom is not divisible and cannot be selective. The State of Israel and we its citizens are directly responsible for upholding that freedom.

We call upon you to actively accept that responsibility and to add your support to the attached petition, which is being distributed among all senior staff members in all institutions of higher education in Israel. After the signatures have been gathered, we intend to seek the support of the Committee of University Presidents and members of the Israeli Academy of Science, and to submit the petition to the following government ministries: Defence, Education, Science, Foreign Affairs, and the Interior.

Sincerely,

The initiators of the petition:

Prof. Menachem Fisch, Tel-Aviv University

Prof. Raphael Falk, The Hebrew University

Prof. Eva Jablonka, Tel-Aviv University

Dr. Snait Gissis, Tel-Aviv University

Text of the petition

We, past and present members of academic staff of Israeli universities, express great concern regarding the ongoing deterioration of the system of higher education in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. We protest against the policy of our government which is causing restrictions of freedom of movement, study and instruction, and we call upon the government to allow students and lecturers free access to all the campuses in the Territories, and to allow lecturers and students who hold foreign passports to teach and study without being threatened with withdrawal of residence visas. To leave the situation as it is will cause serious harm to freedom of movement, study and instruction – harm to the foundation of academic freedom, to which we are committed.

We sent about 9000 emails, of which around 5000 were to senior faculty and the rest to emeriti and junior faculty at some of the institutions. These numbers should be reduced by about 5% to allow for the emails that were returned. In order not to misuse the internal all-university lists, all email addresses were manually downloaded from the open-to-the-public sites of university departments. A total of 407 people, 403 of whom are mostly active senior faculty, (but also include emeriti and junior staff) from the above institutions, as well as 4 signatures from senior faculty of Colleges who became aware of our petition, responded to our call and signed the petition. It is our intention to publicize the list of signatories on the web.

The number of signatories from each university is as follows:

Bar Ilan University 10

Ben Gurion University 77

Haifa University 20

Hebrew University 110

Open University 7

Technion 14

Tel Aviv University 155

Weizmann Institute of Science 10

Sapir College 2

Oranim 1

Bezalel 1

We received a number of letters objecting to our call: some of the authors sent reasoned responses, arguing their case against our petition; others chose to send insulting hate mail.

At the Weitzman Institute of Science, one of the heads of the departments sent a letter via the Academic Affairs Office to all the senior faculty of that institute. In it, he warned the faculty of the danger lurking in our call, basing his argument on very inaccurate rumours about the political stance of the initiators of the petition.

In March 2008 we wrote to the Committee of University Presidents and to the Directorial Board of the Israeli Academy of Science asking them to support our petition. So far, the only answer received has been that our request would be considered.

We are well aware that only rarely do petitions cause a change in a political state of affairs. However, we do not doubt that when there are enough people in the Israeli academic community who are prepared to voice their objection to the conditions under which their colleagues in Palestinian higher education institutions have to work, and do all they can to ensure that their Palestinian counterparts have the same academic freedom that they enjoy, we shall all benefit – Israeli and Palestinian academics alike.

Prof. Menachem Fisch, Tel-Aviv University

Prof. Raphael Falk, The Hebrew University

Prof. Eva Jablonka, Tel-Aviv University

Dr. Snait Gissis, Tel-Aviv University

List of Signatories
Dr. Aref Abu-Rabia BGU
Dr. Tabat Abu Ras BGU
Prof. Zach Adam HUJI
Prof. Hanna Adoni HUJI
Dr. Riad Agrabia BGU
Prof. Ron Aharoni Technion
Dr. Iris Agmon BGU
Prof. Joseph Agassi TAU
Prof. Amotz Agnin HUJI
Prof. Ofer Aharoni Weizmann
Prof. Niv Ahituv TAU
Prof. Gadi Algazi TAU
Dr. Karen Alkalay Gut TAU
Dr. Yoav Alon TAU
Prof. Ehud Altman Weizmann
Dr. Tammy Amiel – Hauser TAU
Dr. Eleanor Amit TAU
Prof. Gannit Ankori HU
Prof. Yonathan Anson BGU
Dr. Ruth Arav OPU
Prof. Mira Ariel TAU
Dr. Amos Arieli Weizmann
Prof. Boaz Arpaly TAU
Dr. Ruth Ashery-Padan TAU
Dr. Nurit Ashkenasy BGU
Dr. Daniel Attas HUJ
Prof. Judy Auerbach BGU
Dr. Michal Aviad TAU
Dr. Yoram Ayal BGU
Dr. Prof. Amir Ayali TAU
Dr. Ariela Azoulay BIU
Prof. Roi Baer HUJI
Prof. Shalom Baer HUJI
Dr. Amir Banbaji BGU
Prof. Gad Baneth HUJI
Prof. Ilan Bank TAU
Prof. Maya Bar-Hillel HUJI
Prof. Eitan Bar Yosef BGU
Dr. Oren Barak HUJI
Prof. Isaac Barash, TAU
Prof. Ron Barkai TAU
Prof. Yacob Barnai Haifa U
Prof. Shosh Bar-Nun TAU
Prof. Arie Bass TAU
Prof. Outi Bat-El TAU
Prof. Hava Bat-Zeev Shyldkrot TAU
Prof. Yehuda Bauer HUJI
Dr. Dalia Beck BGU
Prof. Yhuda Beeton BGU
Dr. Guy Beiner BGU
Prof. Shimshon Belkin HUJI
Prof. Avner Ben-Amos TAU
Prof. Eyal Ben Ari HUJI
Dr Hagit Benbaji BGU
Prof. Yemima Ben-Menachem HUJI
Prof. Ziva Ben-Porat, TAU
Prof. Yinon Ben-Neriah, HUJI
Prof. Simon Benninga TAU
Prof. Zvi Bentwich BGU
Dr. Yael Benyamini TAU
Dr. Yael Ben-Zvi BGU
Prof. Benjamin Isaac TAU
Dr. Nitza Berkovitch BGU
Dr. Louise Bethlehem HUJI
Prof. Anat Biletzki TAU
Prof. Yoram Bilu HUJI
Prof. David Blanc Haifa U
Prof. Rony Blum HUJI
Prof. Shoshana Blum-Kulka HUJI
Prof. Irena Botwinik-Rotem BGU
Prof. Yohanan Brada HUJI
Prof. Michael Brandeis HUJI
Prof. Yigal Bronner TAU
Prof. Jose Brunner TAU
Prof. Judith Buber Agassi HUJI
Prof. Victoria Buch HUJI
Dr. Naama Carmi Haifa U
Dr. Julia Chaitin Sapir College
Prof. Reuven Chayoth BGU
Dr. Raz Chen- Morris BIU
Prof. Mottie Chevion HUJI
Dr. Tamar Cholcman TAU
Dr. Eyal Chowers TAU
Prof. Esther Cohen HUJI
Prof. Michael J. Cohen BIU
Prof. Yerachmiel Cohen HUJI
Dr. Yinon Cohen TAU
Mrs. Anat Danziger HUJI
Prof. Marcelo Dascal TAU
Prof. Nathan Dascal TAU
Prof. David Degani Technion
Prof. Sahul Dollberg TAU
Prof. Fanny Dolzhansky HUJI
Dr. Daniel Dor TAU
Prof. Yuval Dor HUJI
Dr. Iris Dotan TAU
Prof. Tommy Dreyfus TAU
Prof. Amos Dreyfus HUJI
Dr Eli Dresner TAU
Dr Otniel Dror HUJI
Dr Tammy Eilat Yagoury TAU
Prof. Gerda Elata-Alster BGU
Prof. Miri Eliav-Feldon TAU
Prof. David Enoch HUJ
Prof. Yehouda Enzel HUJI
Prof. Daphna Erdinast-Vulcan Haifa U
Prof. Ilan Eshel TAU
Prof. Aharon Eviatar TAU
Dr. Zohar Eytan TAU
Dr. Ovadia Ezra TAU
Prof. Raphael Falk HUJI
Prof. Ruma Falk HUJI
Prof. Emmanuel Farjoun HUJI
Prof. Celia Fassberg HUJI
Prof. Steve Fassberg HUJI
Dr. Jackie Feldman BG
Prof. Rivka Feldhay TAU
Dr. Tovi Fenster, TAU
Dr. Dani Filc BGU
Dr. Lizzie Fireman TAU
Prof. Menachem Fisch TAU
Dr. Susie Fisher Open U
Prof. Hanan Frenk TAU
Prof. Gideon Freudenthal TAU
Prof. Ariela Fridman TAU
Prof. Ehud Friedgut HUJI
Prof. Eli Friedlander TAU
Dr. Alon Friedman BGU
Dr. Paul Frosh HUJI
Dr. Iris Fry Technion
Prof. Michael Fry Technion
Dr. Michalle Gal TAU
Prof. Yolanda Gampel TAU
Prof. Uri Gat HUJI
Prof. Nima Geffen TAU
Dr. Ido Geiger HUJI
Prof. Deborah Gera HUJI
Prof. Israel Gershoni TAU
Dr. Mahmud Ghanayim TAU
Prof. Avner Giladi Haifa U
Dr. Asaf Gilboa Haifa U
Dr. Jack Gilrom BGU
Prof. Ruth Ginsburg HUJI
Prof. Simona Ginsburg OU
Prof. Rachel Giora TAU
Dr. Snait Gissis TAU
Prof.essor Eli Glasner TAU
Prof. Ruth Glasner HUJI
Prof. Marek Glezerman TAU
Mr. Shuka Glotman BGU
Prof. Michael Gluzman TAU
Dr. Tamar Golan BGU
Dr. Menachem Goldenberg TAU
Prof. Haim Goldfus BGU
Prof. Amiram Goldblum HUJI
Prof. Oded Goldreich Weizmann
Prof. Hari Golomb TAU
Dr. Neve Gordon BGU
Dr. Tresa Grauer BGU
Dr. Moki Greefeld TAU
Dr. Matine Grenak-Katrivs TAU
Prof. Nachum Gross HUJI
Prof. Yosef Gruenbaum HUJI
Prof. Guretzki-Bilu TAU
Prof. Zali Gurevitch HUJI
Prof. David Gurwitz TAU
Prof. Yossi Guttmann Haifa U
Dr. Ran Hacohen TAU
Prof. Uri Hadar TAU
Dr. Abdulla Haj Ichia HUJI
Prof. Aviva Halamish TAU
Dr. Masud Hamdan Haifa U
Dr. Talma Handler TAU
Dr. Oren Harman BI
Prof. Alon Harel HUJI
Prof. Ran Hassin HUJI
Prof. Galit Hazan-Rokem HUJI
Prof. Shlomo Hasson HUJI
Prof. Abraham Hefetz TAU
Prof. Moti Heiblum Weizmann
Dr. Sibyl Heilbron Haifa U
Dr. Eyal Heifetz TAU
Dr. Sara Helman BGU
Prof. Yitzhak Hen BGU
Dr. Omri Herzog HUJI
Dr. Tamar Hess HUJI
Prof. Hannan Hever TAU
Dr. Sylvie Honigman TAU
Prof. Ehud Hrushovski HUJI
Prof. Boaz Huss BGU
Prof. Eva Illuz HUJI
Dr. Anat Israeli, Oranim
Prof. Eva Jablonka TAU
Prof. Dan Jacobson TAU
Prof. Sulaiman Jubran TAU
Prof. Edouard Jurkevitch HUJI
Dr. Nirit Kadmon TAU
Dr. Devora Kalekin Haifa U
Dr. Itay Kama TAU
Dr. Avi Kaplan BGU
Dr. Nahum Karlinsky BGU
Prof. Steve Karlish Weizmann
Prof. Rimon Kasher BIU
Prof. Tamar Katriel Haifa U
Prof. Yaakov Katriel Technion
Dr. Roni Kaufman BGU
Prof. Gad Kaynar TAU
Dr. Chen Keasar BGU
Ms. Ruth Kener TAU
Prof. Michael Keren HUJI
Dr Nadera Shalhov-Kevorkian HUJI
Prof. Hanan J. Kisch BGU
Dr. Menachem Klein BI
Prof. Sara Klein Breslavy TAU
Dr. Yoel Klemes Open U
Prof. Ruth Klinov HUJI
Dr. Ariel Knafo HUJI
Prof. Yehoshua Kolodny, HUJI
Prof. Mordechai Kremnizer HUJI
Prof. David Kretzmer HUJI
Dr. Michal Krumer-Nevo BGU
Prof. Richard Kulka HUJI
Dr. Orna Kupferman HUJI
Dr. Raz Kupferman HUJI
Dr. Ron Kuzar Haifa U
Dr. Ori Lahav Technion
Prof. Lius Landa BGU
Prof. Idan Landau BGU
MS. Tali Latowicki BGU
Dr. Shai Lavi TAU
Prof. Boaz Lazar HUJI
Dr. Gerardo Leibner, TAU
Prof. Aaron Lerner Haifa U
Prof. Haim Levanon HUJI
Prof. Iris Levin TAU
Prof. Yakir Levin BGU
Prof. Shimon Levy TAU
Prof. David Lior HUJI
Dr Orly Lubin TAU
Prof. Yael Lubin BGU
Dr. Menachem Luz Haifa U
Prof. M. Machover HUJI
Dr. Daniel Maman BGU
Dr. Shmuel Marco TAU
Prof. Avishai Margalit HUJI
Prof. Moshe Margalith TAU
Prof. Shimon Marom Technion
Prof. Imauel Marx TAU
Dr. Anat Matar TAU
Prof. Tsevi Mazeh TAU
Prof. Raphael Mechoulam HUJI
Prof. Gidon Medini TAU
Prof. Avinoam Meir BGU
Prof. Ron Meir Technion
Prof. Yoram Meital BGU
Dr. Eran Meshorer HUJI
Mr. Avi Mograbi Bezalel
Prof. Raya Morag HUJI
Dr. Efrat Morin HUJI
Prof. Uzi Motro, HUJI
Prof. Guy Mundlak TAU
Prof. Ben Zion Munitz TAU
Dr Eti Nachliel TAU
Prof. Zvi Neeman TAU
Prof. Yosef Neuman TAU
Dr. Yitshak Nevo BGU
Dr. Gidi Nevo BGU
Prof. David Newman BGU
Prof.. Ariel Novoplanky BGU
Prof. Avi Ohry TAU
Prof. Dalia Ofer HUJI
Dr. Yanai Ofran BIU
Prof. Adi Ophir TAU
Prof. Aharon Oppenheimer TAU
Prof. Avi Oz Haifa U
Prof. Iris Parush BGU
Dr. Galia Patt Shamir TAU
Dr. Einat Peled TAU
Dr. Yoav Peled TAU
Prof. Bezalel Peleg HUJI
Prof. Hana Peres TAU
Prof. Mordechai Perl BGU
Prof. Kobi Peter( Peterzil) Haifa U
Dr. Amit Pichevski HUJI
Dr. Yona Pinson TAU
Prof. Nava Pliskin BGU
Prof.. Francis Dov Por HUJI
Prof.. Dan Rabinowitz TAU
Prof. Gad Rabinowitz BGU
Prof. Chaim Rachman Technion
Prof. Yoel Rak TAU
Dr. Hagai Ram BGU
Prof. Uri Ram BGU
Prof. Mauro Rathaous TAU
Prof. Shalom Ratzabi TAU
Dr. Tal Raviv TAU
Prof. Jacob Raz, TAU
Prof. Elchanan Reiner TAU
Prof. Omer Reingold Weizmann
Prof. Meir Rigby HUJI
Prof. Ruth Rigby HUJI
Dr. Roer-Strier HUJI
Prof. Freddie Rokem TAU
Prof. Dana Ron TAU
Prof. Moshe Ron HUJI
Dr. Ayala Ronal TAU
Prof. Steven Rosen BGU
Prof. Tova Rosen BGU
Dr. Zeev Rosenhek OPU
Dr. Issachar Rosen-Zvi TAU
Prof. Susan Rothstein BI
Prof. Elisheva Rosen TAU
Dr. Avi Rubin BGU
Dr. Prof. Bella Rubin TAU
Mr. Daniel Rubinstein BGU
Dr. Ilan Saban Haifa U
Prof. Yosef Sadan TAU
Dr. Hanna Safran Haifa U
Prof. Shlomo Sand TAU
Prof. Shifra Sagi BGU
Dr. Lilach Sagiv HUJI
Prof. Edwin Seroussi HUJI
Dr. Zvi Schuldiner Sapir College
Dr. Sara Schwartz Open U
Dr. Yossef Schwartz TAU
Dr. Shlomi Segall HUJ
Dr. Ella Segev Technion
Prof. Idan Segev HUJI
Prof. Ruben Seroussi TAU
Dr. Alla Shainskaya, Weizmann
Dr. Yeala Shaked HUJI
Dr. Milette Shamir TAU
Prof. Michal Shamir TAU
Dr. Ronen Shamir TAU
Dr. Yaakov Shamir HUJI
Prof. Benny Shanon HUJI
Prof. Itzhak Shapira TAU
MS. Noa Shashar HUJI
Dr. Relli Shechter BGU
Prof.. Gaby Shefler HUJI
Prof. Miriam Shlesinger BI
Prof. Yehuda Shenhav TAU
Prof. Yosef Shiloh TAU
Prof. Tal Siloni TAU
Dr. Eyal Shimoni Weizmann
Prof. Naomi Shir BGU
Prof. Moshe Shokeid TAU
Prof. Boaz Shushan BGU
Dr. Tal Shuval TAU
Prof. Moshe Silberbush, BGU
Dr. Ivy Sichel HUJI
Dr. Rosalie Sitman TAU
Dr. Vered Slonim Nevo BGU
Prof. Varda Soskolne BIU
Prof. Avishai Stark TAU
Prof. Wilfo Stein HUJI
Prof. Shamai Speiser Technion
Prof. W. D. Zeev Stein HUJI
Prof. Carlo Strenger TAU
Dr. Deborah Sweeney, TAU
Dr. Daniella Talmon-Heller BGU
Prof. David Talshir BGU
Dr. Daphne Tsimhoni Technion
Prof. Gideon Toury, TAU
Dr. Hamoutal Tsamir BGU
Prof. Yoav Tsori BGU
Dr. Rachel Tzelnik-Abramovitch TAU
Prof. Joseph Tzelgov BGU
Dr. Jehuda (Dudy) Tzfati HUJI
Prof. Edna Ullmann Margalit HUJI
Prof. Sabetai Unguru TAU
Dr. Vered Vitizky-Seroussi HUJI
Prof. Naphtali Wagner HUJI
Prof. Alon Warburg HUJI
Dr. Eynel Wardi HUJI
Prof. Henry Wassermann OPU
Dr. Nathan Wasserman HUJI
Prof.. Ruth Weintraub TAU
Dr. Barak Weiss BGU
Dr. Haim Weiss BGU
Prof. Sasha Weitman TAU
Prof. Haim Werner TAU
Prof. Yehuda Werner HUJI
Prof. Paul Wexler TAU
Prof.. Yoad Winter Technion
Dr. Nurit Yaari TAU
Prof. Yoel Yaari HUJI
Dr. Haim Yacobi BGU
Dr. Niza Yanay BGU
Prof. Eli Yassif TAU
Dr. Mahmoud Yazbak Haifa U
Dr. Edit Yerushalmi Weizmann
Prof. Oren Yiftachel BGU
Dr. Daphna Yoel TAU
Prof. Yuval Yonay Haifa U
Prof. Mira Zakai TAU
Dr. Michael Zakim TAU
Prof. Shmuel Zamir HUJI
Prof. Anat Zanger TAU
Prof. Joseph Zeira HUJI
Dr. Dina Zilberg BGU
Prof. Moshe Zimmermann HUJI
Dr. Michal Zion BIU
Dr. Amalia Ziv TAU
Dr. Ouriel Zohar Technion
Dr. Tsaffrir Zor TAU
Prof. Moshe Zuckermann TAU

http://academic-access.weebly.com/

Posted on 26-07-2008

====================================================================================

———- Forwarded message ———
From: <e-mail@israel-academia-monitor.com>
Date: Wed, Aug 13, 2008 at 10:28 AM
Subject: Palestine Solidarity Campaign, which launched the Boycott Israeli Goods Campaign, adopts the Petition Issued by Israeli Academics
To:

http://bigcampaign.org/index.php?mact=News,cntnt01,detail,0&cntnt01articleid=220&cntnt01origid=82&cntnt01dateformat=%25d%20%25b%20%25Y&cntnt01returnid=72 The BIG Campaign (Boycott Israeli Goods) 10 Aug 2008

Academic freedom for whom? Israeli academics

---

Academic boycott

This important petition (below) issued by Israeli academics provides further support for PACBI’s consistent denunciation of the Israeli academy for its complicity in the system of oppression against Palestinians and its silence about the long-standing violation of the basic freedoms — including the academic freedom — of Palestinians. Comment by PACBI:

The petition also vindicates PACBI in its campaign for the institutional boycott of the Israeli academy.

As the background to the petition makes clear, the Israeli academy is not the bastion of dissent it is purported to be by those seeking to defend it and thus delegitimize the call for the academic boycott of Israel. The vast majority of the Israeli academic community are oblivious to the oppression of the Palestinian people — both inside Israel and in the occupied territory — and have never fought to oppose the practices and policies of their state. In fact, they duly serve in the reserve forces of the occupation army and as such are either perpetrators of or silent witnesses to the daily brutality of the occupation. They also do not hesitate to partner in their academic research with the security-military establishment that is the chief architect and executor of the occupation and other forms of oppression of the Palestinian people.

This initiative also shows that sadly, even those who wish to rouse their colleagues from their slumber seem to be the victims of amnesia or else are willfully ignoring the basic political context within which the academic freedom of Palestinian academics and students is being violated. That context is no other than the illegal, four-decades-old military occupation of Palestinian land, an occupation that has striven consistently to destroy Palestinian society and its institutions, including universities. That a petition issued by academics ignores this basic fact and is unwilling to condemn the occupation regime is very telling.

http://www.pacbi.org/boycott_news_more.php?id=792_0_1_0_C

Text of the Petition Issued by Israeli Academics:

Academic freedom for whom?

The meaning of “academic freedom” is fairly obvious. It is something that is associated with democratic societies, and it is universally held in high esteem, even though its boundaries and limits are often unclear. Basically, where there is freedom to teach, study and carry out research in academic institutions, and to publish research-related books and articles, then academic freedom exists.

It is clear that there can be no real academic freedom in higher education unless it is possible to reach the institutions where one studies, teaches, and carries out research. Academics within the State of Israel are able to do this, but those working in the higher education institutions in the Occupied Palestinian Territories are not. There, checkpoints, blockades, walls and fences prevent thousands of students and teachers from leading a normal academic life, and lecturers with non-Palestinian passports, who wish to teach in those institutions, are prevented from staying for long enough to carry out meaningful continuous teaching.

The academic community of the State of Israel, which rightly demands academic freedom for its members both inside Israel and within the international academic community, has generally disregarded the demand for a similar freedom for Palestinian academics in the Occupied Territories for which the State of Israel is responsible. Because of this, and in view of the rapidly deteriorating situation in the Territories during the last couple of years, we approached all the senior faculty members in the major higher education and scientific research institutions in Israel: Bar Ilan University, Ben Gurion University, Haifa University, The Hebrew University, The Open University, the Technion (Israel Institute of Technology), Tel Aviv University, and the Weizmann Institute for Science. We sent them the following letter and petition:

Dear colleagues:

As academics and citizens of the State of Israel, whatever our political opinions may be, we see ourselves as having a duty to fight for the academic freedom of our Palestinian colleagues. We call upon the Government of Israel to honour and implement the right of freedom of movement, academic study and instruction in the State of Israel and the territories controlled by it. Academic freedom is not divisible and cannot be selective. The State of Israel and we its citizens are directly responsible for upholding that freedom.

We call upon you to actively accept that responsibility and to add your support to the attached petition, which is being distributed among all senior staff members in all institutions of higher education in Israel. After the signatures have been gathered, we intend to seek the support of the Committee of University Presidents and members of the Israeli Academy of Science, and to submit the petition to the following government ministries: Defence, Education, Science, Foreign Affairs, and the Interior.

Sincerely,

The initiators of the petition:

Prof. Menachem Fisch, Tel-Aviv University

Prof. Raphael Falk, The Hebrew University

Prof. Eva Jablonka, Tel-Aviv University

Dr. Snait Gissis, Tel-Aviv University

Text of the petition

We, past and present members of academic staff of Israeli universities, express great concern regarding the ongoing deterioration of the system of higher education in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. We protest against the policy of our government which is causing restrictions of freedom of movement, study and instruction, and we call upon the government to allow students and lecturers free access to all the campuses in the Territories, and to allow lecturers and students who hold foreign passports to teach and study without being threatened with withdrawal of residence visas. To leave the situation as it is will cause serious harm to freedom of movement, study and instruction – harm to the foundation of academic freedom, to which we are committed.

We sent about 9000 emails, of which around 5000 were to senior faculty and the rest to emeriti and junior faculty at some of the institutions. These numbers should be reduced by about 5% to allow for the emails that were returned. In order not to misuse the internal all-university lists, all email addresses were manually downloaded from the open-to-the-public sites of university departments. A total of 407 people, 403 of whom are mostly active senior faculty, (but also include emeriti and junior staff) from the above institutions, as well as 4 signatures from senior faculty of Colleges who became aware of our petition, responded to our call and signed the petition. It is our intention to publicize the list of signatories on the web.

The number of signatories from each university is as follows:

Bar Ilan University 10

Ben Gurion University 77

Haifa University 20

Hebrew University 110

Open University 7

Technion 14

Tel Aviv University 155

Weizmann Institute of Science 10

Sapir College 2

Oranim 1

Bezalel 1

We received a number of letters objecting to our call: some of the authors sent reasoned responses, arguing their case against our petition; others chose to send insulting hate mail.

At the Weitzman Institute of Science, one of the heads of the departments sent a letter via the Academic Affairs Office to all the senior faculty of that institute. In it, he warned the faculty of the danger lurking in our call, basing his argument on very inaccurate rumours about the political stance of the initiators of the petition.

In March 2008 we wrote to the Committee of University Presidents and to the Directorial Board of the Israeli Academy of Science asking them to support our petition. So far, the only answer received has been that our request would be considered.

We are well aware that only rarely do petitions cause a change in a political state of affairs. However, we do not doubt that when there are enough people in the Israeli academic community who are prepared to voice their objection to the conditions under which their colleagues in Palestinian higher education institutions have to work, and do all they can to ensure that their Palestinian counterparts have the same academic freedom that they enjoy, we shall all benefit – Israeli and Palestinian academics alike.

Prof. Menachem Fisch, Tel-Aviv University

Prof. Raphael Falk, The Hebrew University

Prof. Eva Jablonka, Tel-Aviv University

Dr. Snait Gissis, Tel-Aviv University

List of Signatories

Dr. Aref Abu-Rabia BGU
Dr. Tabat Abu Ras BGU
Prof. Zach Adam HUJI
Prof. Hanna Adoni HUJI
Dr. Riad Agrabia BGU
Prof. Ron Aharoni Technion
Dr. Iris Agmon BGU
Prof. Joseph Agassi TAU
Prof. Amotz Agnin HUJI
Prof. Ofer Aharoni Weizmann
Prof. Niv Ahituv TAU
Prof. Gadi Algazi TAU
Dr. Karen Alkalay Gut TAU
Dr. Yoav Alon TAU
Prof. Ehud Altman Weizmann
Dr. Tammy Amiel – Hauser TAU
Dr. Eleanor Amit TAU
Prof. Gannit Ankori HU
Prof. Yonathan Anson BGU
Dr. Ruth Arav OPU
Prof. Mira Ariel TAU
Dr. Amos Arieli Weizmann
Prof. Boaz Arpaly TAU
Dr. Ruth Ashery-Padan TAU
Dr. Nurit Ashkenasy BGU
Dr. Daniel Attas HUJ
Prof. Judy Auerbach BGU
Dr. Michal Aviad TAU
Dr. Yoram Ayal BGU
Dr. Prof. Amir Ayali TAU
Dr. Ariela Azoulay BIU
Prof. Roi Baer HUJI
Prof. Shalom Baer HUJI
Dr. Amir Banbaji BGU
Prof. Gad Baneth HUJI
Prof. Ilan Bank TAU
Prof. Maya Bar-Hillel HUJI
Prof. Eitan Bar Yosef BGU
Dr. Oren Barak HUJI
Prof. Isaac Barash, TAU
Prof. Ron Barkai TAU
Prof. Yacob Barnai Haifa U
Prof. Shosh Bar-Nun TAU
Prof. Arie Bass TAU
Prof. Outi Bat-El TAU
Prof. Hava Bat-Zeev Shyldkrot TAU
Prof. Yehuda Bauer HUJI
Dr. Dalia Beck BGU
Prof. Yhuda Beeton BGU
Dr. Guy Beiner BGU
Prof. Shimshon Belkin HUJI
Prof. Avner Ben-Amos TAU
Prof. Eyal Ben Ari HUJI
Dr Hagit Benbaji BGU
Prof. Yemima Ben-Menachem HUJI
Prof. Ziva Ben-Porat, TAU
Prof. Yinon Ben-Neriah, HUJI
Prof. Simon Benninga TAU
Prof. Zvi Bentwich BGU
Dr. Yael Benyamini TAU
Dr. Yael Ben-Zvi BGU
Prof. Benjamin Isaac TAU
Dr. Nitza Berkovitch BGU
Dr. Louise Bethlehem HUJI
Prof. Anat Biletzki TAU
Prof. Yoram Bilu HUJI
Prof. David Blanc Haifa U
Prof. Rony Blum HUJI
Prof. Shoshana Blum-Kulka HUJI
Prof. Irena Botwinik-Rotem BGU
Prof. Yohanan Brada HUJI
Prof. Michael Brandeis HUJI
Prof. Yigal Bronner TAU
Prof. Jose Brunner TAU
Prof. Judith Buber Agassi HUJI
Prof. Victoria Buch HUJI
Dr. Naama Carmi Haifa U
Dr. Julia Chaitin Sapir College
Prof. Reuven Chayoth BGU
Dr. Raz Chen- Morris BIU
Prof. Mottie Chevion HUJI
Dr. Tamar Cholcman TAU
Dr. Eyal Chowers TAU
Prof. Esther Cohen HUJI
Prof. Michael J. Cohen BIU
Prof. Yerachmiel Cohen HUJI
Dr. Yinon Cohen TAU
Mrs. Anat Danziger HUJI
Prof. Marcelo Dascal TAU
Prof. Nathan Dascal TAU
Prof. David Degani Technion
Prof. Sahul Dollberg TAU
Prof. Fanny Dolzhansky HUJI
Dr. Daniel Dor TAU
Prof. Yuval Dor HUJI
Dr. Iris Dotan TAU
Prof. Tommy Dreyfus TAU
Prof. Amos Dreyfus HUJI
Dr Eli Dresner TAU
Dr Otniel Dror HUJI
Dr Tammy Eilat Yagoury TAU
Prof. Gerda Elata-Alster BGU
Prof. Miri Eliav-Feldon TAU
Prof. David Enoch HUJ
Prof. Yehouda Enzel HUJI
Prof. Daphna Erdinast-Vulcan Haifa U
Prof. Ilan Eshel TAU
Prof. Aharon Eviatar TAU
Dr. Zohar Eytan TAU
Dr. Ovadia Ezra TAU
Prof. Raphael Falk HUJI
Prof. Ruma Falk HUJI
Prof. Emmanuel Farjoun HUJI
Prof. Celia Fassberg HUJI
Prof. Steve Fassberg HUJI
Dr. Jackie Feldman BG
Prof. Rivka Feldhay TAU
Dr. Tovi Fenster, TAU
Dr. Dani Filc BGU
Dr. Lizzie Fireman TAU
Prof. Menachem Fisch TAU
Dr. Susie Fisher Open U
Prof. Hanan Frenk TAU
Prof. Gideon Freudenthal TAU
Prof. Ariela Fridman TAU
Prof. Ehud Friedgut HUJI
Prof. Eli Friedlander TAU
Dr. Alon Friedman BGU
Dr. Paul Frosh HUJI
Dr. Iris Fry Technion
Prof. Michael Fry Technion
Dr. Michalle Gal TAU
Prof. Yolanda Gampel TAU
Prof. Uri Gat HUJI
Prof. Nima Geffen TAU
Dr. Ido Geiger HUJI
Prof. Deborah Gera HUJI
Prof. Israel Gershoni TAU
Dr. Mahmud Ghanayim TAU
Prof. Avner Giladi Haifa U
Dr. Asaf Gilboa Haifa U
Dr. Jack Gilrom BGU
Prof. Ruth Ginsburg HUJI
Prof. Simona Ginsburg OU
Prof. Rachel Giora TAU
Dr. Snait Gissis TAU
Prof.essor Eli Glasner TAU
Prof. Ruth Glasner HUJI
Prof. Marek Glezerman TAU
Mr. Shuka Glotman BGU
Prof. Michael Gluzman TAU
Dr. Tamar Golan BGU
Dr. Menachem Goldenberg TAU
Prof. Haim Goldfus BGU
Prof. Amiram Goldblum HUJI
Prof. Oded Goldreich Weizmann
Prof. Hari Golomb TAU
Dr. Neve Gordon BGU
Dr. Tresa Grauer BGU
Dr. Moki Greefeld TAU
Dr. Matine Grenak-Katrivs TAU
Prof. Nachum Gross HUJI
Prof. Yosef Gruenbaum HUJI
Prof. Guretzki-Bilu TAU
Prof. Zali Gurevitch HUJI
Prof. David Gurwitz TAU
Prof. Yossi Guttmann Haifa U
Dr. Ran Hacohen TAU
Prof. Uri Hadar TAU
Dr. Abdulla Haj Ichia HUJI
Prof. Aviva Halamish TAU
Dr. Masud Hamdan Haifa U
Dr. Talma Handler TAU
Dr. Oren Harman BI
Prof. Alon Harel HUJI
Prof. Ran Hassin HUJI
Prof. Galit Hazan-Rokem HUJI
Prof. Shlomo Hasson HUJI
Prof. Abraham Hefetz TAU
Prof. Moti Heiblum Weizmann
Dr. Sibyl Heilbron Haifa U
Dr. Eyal Heifetz TAU
Dr. Sara Helman BGU
Prof. Yitzhak Hen BGU
Dr. Omri Herzog HUJI
Dr. Tamar Hess HUJI
Prof. Hannan Hever TAU
Dr. Sylvie Honigman TAU
Prof. Ehud Hrushovski HUJI
Prof. Boaz Huss BGU
Prof. Eva Illuz HUJI
Dr. Anat Israeli, Oranim
Prof. Eva Jablonka TAU
Prof. Dan Jacobson TAU
Prof. Sulaiman Jubran TAU
Prof. Edouard Jurkevitch HUJI
Dr. Nirit Kadmon TAU
Dr. Devora Kalekin Haifa U
Dr. Itay Kama TAU
Dr. Avi Kaplan BGU
Dr. Nahum Karlinsky BGU
Prof. Steve Karlish Weizmann
Prof. Rimon Kasher BIU
Prof. Tamar Katriel Haifa U
Prof. Yaakov Katriel Technion
Dr. Roni Kaufman BGU
Prof. Gad Kaynar TAU
Dr. Chen Keasar BGU
Ms. Ruth Kener TAU
Prof. Michael Keren HUJI
Dr Nadera Shalhov-Kevorkian HUJI
Prof. Hanan J. Kisch BGU
Dr. Menachem Klein BI
Prof. Sara Klein Breslavy TAU
Dr. Yoel Klemes Open U
Prof. Ruth Klinov HUJI
Dr. Ariel Knafo HUJI
Prof. Yehoshua Kolodny, HUJI
Prof. Mordechai Kremnizer HUJI
Prof. David Kretzmer HUJI
Dr. Michal Krumer-Nevo BGU
Prof. Richard Kulka HUJI
Dr. Orna Kupferman HUJI
Dr. Raz Kupferman HUJI
Dr. Ron Kuzar Haifa U
Dr. Ori Lahav Technion
Prof. Lius Landa BGU
Prof. Idan Landau BGU
MS. Tali Latowicki BGU
Dr. Shai Lavi TAU
Prof. Boaz Lazar HUJI
Dr. Gerardo Leibner, TAU
Prof. Aaron Lerner Haifa U
Prof. Haim Levanon HUJI
Prof. Iris Levin TAU
Prof. Yakir Levin BGU
Prof. Shimon Levy TAU
Prof. David Lior HUJI
Dr Orly Lubin TAU
Prof. Yael Lubin BGU
Dr. Menachem Luz Haifa U
Prof. M. Machover HUJI
Dr. Daniel Maman BGU
Dr. Shmuel Marco TAU
Prof. Avishai Margalit HUJI
Prof. Moshe Margalith TAU
Prof. Shimon Marom Technion
Prof. Imauel Marx TAU
Dr. Anat Matar TAU
Prof. Tsevi Mazeh TAU
Prof. Raphael Mechoulam HUJI
Prof. Gidon Medini TAU
Prof. Avinoam Meir BGU
Prof. Ron Meir Technion
Prof. Yoram Meital BGU
Dr. Eran Meshorer HUJI
Mr. Avi Mograbi Bezalel
Prof. Raya Morag HUJI
Dr. Efrat Morin HUJI
Prof. Uzi Motro, HUJI
Prof. Guy Mundlak TAU
Prof. Ben Zion Munitz TAU
Dr Eti Nachliel TAU
Prof. Zvi Neeman TAU
Prof. Yosef Neuman TAU
Dr. Yitshak Nevo BGU
Dr. Gidi Nevo BGU
Prof. David Newman BGU
Prof.. Ariel Novoplanky BGU
Prof. Avi Ohry TAU
Prof. Dalia Ofer HUJI
Dr. Yanai Ofran BIU
Prof. Adi Ophir TAU
Prof. Aharon Oppenheimer TAU
Prof. Avi Oz Haifa U
Prof. Iris Parush BGU
Dr. Galia Patt Shamir TAU
Dr. Einat Peled TAU
Dr. Yoav Peled TAU
Prof. Bezalel Peleg HUJI
Prof. Hana Peres TAU
Prof. Mordechai Perl BGU
Prof. Kobi Peter( Peterzil) Haifa U
Dr. Amit Pichevski HUJI
Dr. Yona Pinson TAU
Prof. Nava Pliskin BGU
Prof.. Francis Dov Por HUJI
Prof.. Dan Rabinowitz TAU
Prof. Gad Rabinowitz BGU
Prof. Chaim Rachman Technion
Prof. Yoel Rak TAU
Dr. Hagai Ram BGU
Prof. Uri Ram BGU
Prof. Mauro Rathaous TAU
Prof. Shalom Ratzabi TAU
Dr. Tal Raviv TAU
Prof. Jacob Raz, TAU
Prof. Elchanan Reiner TAU
Prof. Omer Reingold Weizmann
Prof. Meir Rigby HUJI
Prof. Ruth Rigby HUJI
Dr. Roer-Strier HUJI
Prof. Freddie Rokem TAU
Prof. Dana Ron TAU
Prof. Moshe Ron HUJI
Dr. Ayala Ronal TAU
Prof. Steven Rosen BGU
Prof. Tova Rosen BGU
Dr. Zeev Rosenhek OPU
Dr. Issachar Rosen-Zvi TAU
Prof. Susan Rothstein BI
Prof. Elisheva Rosen TAU
Dr. Avi Rubin BGU
Dr. Prof. Bella Rubin TAU
Mr. Daniel Rubinstein BGU
Dr. Ilan Saban Haifa U
Prof. Yosef Sadan TAU
Dr. Hanna Safran Haifa U
Prof. Shlomo Sand TAU
Prof. Shifra Sagi BGU
Dr. Lilach Sagiv HUJI
Prof. Edwin Seroussi HUJI
Dr. Zvi Schuldiner Sapir College
Dr. Sara Schwartz Open U
Dr. Yossef Schwartz TAU
Dr. Shlomi Segall HUJ
Dr. Ella Segev Technion
Prof. Idan Segev HUJI
Prof. Ruben Seroussi TAU
Dr. Alla Shainskaya, Weizmann
Dr. Yeala Shaked HUJI
Dr. Milette Shamir TAU
Prof. Michal Shamir TAU
Dr. Ronen Shamir TAU
Dr. Yaakov Shamir HUJI
Prof. Benny Shanon HUJI
Prof. Itzhak Shapira TAU
MS. Noa Shashar HUJI
Dr. Relli Shechter BGU
Prof.. Gaby Shefler HUJI
Prof. Miriam Shlesinger BI
Prof. Yehuda Shenhav TAU
Prof. Yosef Shiloh TAU
Prof. Tal Siloni TAU
Dr. Eyal Shimoni Weizmann
Prof. Naomi Shir BGU
Prof. Moshe Shokeid TAU
Prof. Boaz Shushan BGU
Dr. Tal Shuval TAU
Prof. Moshe Silberbush, BGU
Dr. Ivy Sichel HUJI
Dr. Rosalie Sitman TAU
Dr. Vered Slonim Nevo BGU
Prof. Varda Soskolne BIU
Prof. Avishai Stark TAU
Prof. Wilfo Stein HUJI
Prof. Shamai Speiser Technion
Prof. W. D. Zeev Stein HUJI
Prof. Carlo Strenger TAU
Dr. Deborah Sweeney, TAU
Dr. Daniella Talmon-Heller BGU
Prof. David Talshir BGU
Dr. Daphne Tsimhoni Technion
Prof. Gideon Toury, TAU
Dr. Hamoutal Tsamir BGU
Prof. Yoav Tsori BGU
Dr. Rachel Tzelnik-Abramovitch TAU
Prof. Joseph Tzelgov BGU
Dr. Jehuda (Dudy) Tzfati HUJI
Prof. Edna Ullmann Margalit HUJI
Prof. Sabetai Unguru TAU
Dr. Vered Vitizky-Seroussi HUJI
Prof. Naphtali Wagner HUJI
Prof. Alon Warburg HUJI
Dr. Eynel Wardi HUJI
Prof. Henry Wassermann OPU
Dr. Nathan Wasserman HUJI
Prof.. Ruth Weintraub TAU
Dr. Barak Weiss BGU
Dr. Haim Weiss BGU
Prof. Sasha Weitman TAU
Prof. Haim Werner TAU
Prof. Yehuda Werner HUJI
Prof. Paul Wexler TAU
Prof.. Yoad Winter Technion
Dr. Nurit Yaari TAU
Prof. Yoel Yaari HUJI
Dr. Haim Yacobi BGU
Dr. Niza Yanay BGU
Prof. Eli Yassif TAU
Dr. Mahmoud Yazbak Haifa U
Dr. Edit Yerushalmi Weizmann
Prof. Oren Yiftachel BGU
Dr. Daphna Yoel TAU
Prof. Yuval Yonay Haifa U
Prof. Mira Zakai TAU
Dr. Michael Zakim TAU
Prof. Shmuel Zamir HUJI
Prof. Anat Zanger TAU
Prof. Joseph Zeira HUJI
Dr. Dina Zilberg BGU
Prof. Moshe Zimmermann HUJI
Dr. Michal Zion BIU
Dr. Amalia Ziv TAU
Dr. Ouriel Zohar Technion
Dr. Tsaffrir Zor TAU
Prof. Moshe Zuckermann TAU
http://academic-access.weebly.com/
The Big Campaign

The Palestine Solidarity Campaign launched the Boycott Israeli Goods Campaign in the House of Commons on the 4th July 2001. There had been calls for a boycott from within Israel itself as well as in the Occupied Territories.

Our decision to launch the BIG Campaign followed decades of Israel ‘s refusal to abide by UN Resolutions, International Humanitarian law and the Fourth Geneva Convention.

On 9th June 2005, after the International Court of Justice’s ruling against Israel’s apartheid wall, a coalition of Palestinian Civil Society Organisations issued a ‘Call for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions against apartheid Israel until it complies with International Law’.

Boycott Israeli goods intends to campaign for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions in line with this call from Palestinian civil society.

We will organise supporters to

• Boycott Israeli goods and services
• Boycott Israeli cultural and sporting institutions who do not condemn Israel’s ilegal occupation
• Boycott Israeli academic institutions and academics who do not condemn Israel’s ilegal occupation
• Promote a campaign against tourism in apartheid Israel
• Promote divestment from companies who invest in apartheid Israel or profit from Israel’s occupation and apartheid policies
• To camapign against companies who invest in apartheid Israel or profit from Israel’s occupation and apartheid policies
• To persuade businesses to stop trading with apartheid Israel
• To campaign for an end to European Union and British government trade agreements with Israel
• To campaign for UK and EU sanctions against apartheid Israel until it complies with international humanitarian law
• To promote initiatives to decrease the isolation of the occupied Palestinian people and promote ethical, fairly traded Palestinian goods.

====================================================================
http://www.wisdom.weizmann.ac.il/~oded/politicsJan03.html

My political views

Oded Goldreich, January 2003.

Summary

The Israeli society has been degenerating morally and intellectually for several decades and reached a disgusting low point. This degeneration is due in part to a global degeneration (lead by the USA), but is actually dominated by a local factor. The latter is the occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Thus, the single most important change that should take place is the immediate ending of this occupation. Other recommended actions include

• Adopting a critical view of Globalization, Privatization and Capitalism, and acting accordingly.
• Uncompromised Protection of Human Rights.
• De-militarization of the Israeli Society (e.g., breaking the linkage between civil/social rights/benefits and army service).
• Granting equal rights, in all respects, to all citizens. This includes abolishing all forms of discrimination against Arabs, Women, and Gay/Lesbians.
• Providing fair treatment of foreign workers along with the elimination of the economical incentives for preferring them over Israeli workers.
• Separation of State and Religious Affairs.
• Providing a critical analysis of (mass and elite) Culture.

A concrete suggestion: support HADASH, the only political party in the parliament that is committed to all these views. Meretz, the Labor Party and the Arab parties (i.e., Balad and Ra’am) share some of these views (in some cases in very moderate versions) but are not fully committed to all of them.

The occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip

The most dominant source of evil in the Israeli society is the continued occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. This source of evil also contributes to several of the other problems discussed below. For example, the occupation strengthens the militaristic character of the Israeli society, fosters its contempt to human rights, and cultivates reactionary, ethnocentric, racist, and provincial attitudes. In addition, it causes severe economical and social problems and prevents a critical discussion of any other key issue (e.g., Globalization, Privatization and Capitalism).

However, the most evil part of the occupation is the occupation itself; that is, the violation of the most basic human right (i.e., freedom) of three million people (i.e., the Palestinians living in the occupied territories). In addition, Israel’s rule of these occupied territories is in clear violation of the globally-recognized duty of the ruler to administer and develop the occupied territory to the benefit of its residents. Needless to say, the settling of the ruler’s citizens in the occupied territories is not only implicitly forbidden by the above principle but is also explicitly forbidden by international law (which the Israeli administration disregards whenever it pleases). On top of this massive violation of human rights, Israel’s rule of the occupied territories is marked by an increasing number of war crimes ranging from murder (i.e., intentional killing of people without due process and/or sound justification), to causing death and severe injury of civilians in hundreds of cases (by criminal negligence), massive intentional destruction of private and public property (i.e., houses, plants, vehicles, equipment, etc), and the emprisonment and starvation of the entire population.

Typically, the justification offered for these violations and crimes is self-defense (“security reasons”), lack of other choice (i.e., “nobody to talk to”) and “common practice” (of other nations). These claims are neither valid nor the true reason for the continued occupation. But even if these claims were valid, a question of balance between legitimate concerns should have been seriously investigated (e.g., balance between the right of self-defense and the harm caused by specific actions taken according to that right). For example, when referring to the intentional killing of certain suspects, the questions are whether it is clear that this particular suspect plans to cause the death of other people and whether killing him/her is the only way to prevent him/her from carrying out this plan. Most if not all the intentional killing by the Israeli army cannot be justified by this defense; they are typically acts of revenge, which are sometimes directed against people that are not even responsible for any “act of terrorism” (but are rather political activists that are considered harmful to the cause of the continued occupation).

The continued occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip does not promote the security of the state of Israel, but rather endangers it. Indeed, alternative and far more effective security measures (at Israel’s borders with the Palestinian territories) would require far less (human and financial) resources than those wasted towards maintaining the occupation. The continued occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip is not performed in lack of other choice: Israel can just withdraw from there (as it did from the south of Lebanon) unilaterally and/or after negotiations with the Palestinians. If the topic of negotiation were withdrawal from the occupied territories as part of a lasting peace treaty then there would be no problem to find “somebody to talk to” on the Palestinian side. (The question is who is willing to conduct negotiations of such a realistic and justified agenda on the Israeli side.) Finally, the fact that other nations (mainly at other historical periods) have conducted worst crimes is not a justification for anything. Needless to say, the approval of the current USA administration (which conducts war crimes en route of its attempts to administer the entire world) is irrelevant.

The true reason for the continued occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip is the invested interest of part of the Israeli society in this occupation, the miscalculation of the damage caused by the occupation to the Israeli society, and its disregard of universal considerations (by a large portion of the Israeli society). In particular, the “settlers” have a direct personal interest in the continued occupation and seem oblivious to its cost (in terms of damage to the Israeli society not to mention the Palestinian one). Some businesses also have such an interest. In addition, parts of the Israeli right-wing, which has nothing to offer but hatred of the other and confrontation with it, has an interest in the continued occupation and confrontation that comes with it, and certainly is emotionally incapable in “giving up” anything significant towards a resolution.

The forces in the Israeli society that are truly committed to ending the occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip are in clear minority. Given the state of affairs described above, it is a moral duty to refuse to take part in any action that serves the occupation. Such a moral choice also carries the political benefit of making a firm statement to the rest of the society regarding the evil (and cost) involved in the occupation, and puts pressure on the forces that favor the continuation of the occupation. Thus, the moral refusal to take part in the occupation is also an important political step. This makes organizations like Yesh Gvul and Ometz Le’Sarev worthy of special support and respect.Globalization, Privatization and CapitalismCapitalism at its current brutal stage is reflected by two slogans: Privatization and Globalization. Privatization, which aims to strip the state from any economical activity (supposedly because it cannot efficiently-perform such activities), is actually the main tool for destructing the structures of social security that were established decades ago by the social-democratic (a.k.a reform capitalist) movement. Globalization acts similarly on a global scale. In both cases, real social benefits (and, in particular, securities) of the entire population are replaced by vague promises (of “prosperity that benefits all”) and unrealistic dreams (of social mobility) that are being disseminated by the mass media. Specifically, general prosperity did not follow when pure (rather than reformed) capitalism was given a free hand (at the last 20 years of the 20th century), and the general population has not benefited but rather suffered. As for social mobility, it occurs very rarely unless promoted by non-economical means (e.g., affirmative action). That is, real-life concerns are being replaced by false ideology. This process is not being orchestrated by a small group of conspirators, but is rather developing through the actions of many members of the society (especially by the intellectual elite and the middle class). Thus, the victims of this process contribute to its development.

The arguments in favor of Globalization, Privatization and Capitalism come all from traditional economics, which is kind of circular at least in case of Capitalism that can be defined as the view that everything should be measured in terms of money or cost/merchandise. But there is no reason to agree to the reduction of everything to costs and merchandise. On the contrary, one should object to this view, and in fact almost all people object to this view when it is carried out to the “moral sphere”; for example, people are not allowed to sell themselves as slaves, to hire others to murder somebody, to offer money for a vote in the election, etc. That is, murdering somebody is not allowed even if it can bring about great economical advantages. The same reasoning should be applied to restrict the behavior of companies in the national and international sphere. Working people should not be treated as merchandise, and social rights and securities should not be treated as merchandise. [Human should not be treated as a mean (or an instrument); Kant, Critique of Practical Reason]

Thus we reject Capitalism at its current brutal stage. The alternatives are either to reform Capitalism (i.e., make it more “human” and “sensitive”) or to turn to socialism (which, roughly speaking, means giving priority to work and workers over capital). Both alternatives are aimed at improving the well-being of mankind and differ on the question of whether this should be done by influencing the evoloution of the “capitalist system” or trying to replace it. The distinction that sound sematical, may be reflected in different attitudes towards concrete questions (which again reduce to the difference between a moderate change and a radical one). There is a big unjustified antagonism between these two alternatives, which stems from the false belief that struggleing towards one alternative hurts the success of the other. In particular, both theoretical consideration and historical experience show that it is harder to move from harsh Capitalism to socialism than it is to move from reformed Capitalism to socialism.

Human and Civil Rights

The low standing of Human Rights in Israel is strongly related to the need to deny the evils involved in maintaining the occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The conflict that arises from the occupation (as well as the induced “Israeli-Arab conflict”) is also used to justify the discrimination of the Arab citizens inside Israel, which is also fostered by an identity crisis of the Jewish society in Israel. The latter also prevents any action towards a true separation of religious and state affairs. Instead, secular Jews in Israel develop a hatred towards religious Jews while maintaining an inferiority complex towards the traditional religious Jewish culture.

All these problems are amplified by the lack of a lack of a truly democratic tradition and weakness of the civil society. Instead, the ethos of the state and its army play a major role. In such an atmosphere, equal treatment of women is but a phantom. The same and worst holds with respect to the treatment of other forms of “Others” such as gay/lesbians, Arab citizens and foreign workers.

*********